A 22-year-old woman was fatally struck by a VRE train near Burke Centre in Burke, Va., Wednesday morning, according to a service alert from VRE.
The Manassas-bound train struck Danyelle Anderson just after 7 a.m., near the Burke Centre station. The train was not scheduled to stop at the station and would've been traveling approximately 50 mph.
News4's Kristin Wright spoke with the young victim's mother shortly after the crash. Alta Anderson said she had a gut feeling -- mother's instinct -- there was something wrong.
"I immediately texted her, and I didn't get a text back," Anderson said. "Danyelle loved everybody. She was a very fun-loving lady."
She said her daughter was on her way to work at Target, and would cross the tracks during a shortcut.
"It was still dark and it was still foggy so visibility was probably reduced," Don Gotthardt with Fairfax County Police said.
Only seven people were on the train at the time: four passengers and three crewmembers. They were taken to their destinations by taxicab.
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Rich Dolton with VRE said, "On behalf of VRE and our various jurisdictions and stakeholders, we just like to send out our condolences to the family and friends"
"It's a very dynamic operation, and you don't necessarily see them [the trains] or hear them. When you're on or about the tracks, you must behave in such a fashion in that there are trains operating on them whether you hear them or not, and frankly just stay away."
