Colorado

Investigators rule UP 844 excursion death accidental; family agrees
By Bill Diven | August 5, 2018

BRIGHTON, Colo. — Investigators say the death of a woman photographing Union Pacific steam locomotive No. 844 July 21 suggests the woman was more focused on her cellphone screen than the approaching train. In an interview, the woman’s husband agrees with that assessment, saying that he would not want the accident to deter steam excursions.

The 15-page report by the Adams County, Colo., Sheriff's Department, draws no conclusions on why Kelly Michelle Yarish chose to stand on the "tie section" of the tracks. The sheriff's office, lead agency in the investigation, released the report late Friday in response to a public-records request filed by Trains News Wire.

No. 844 was on its only excursion of the year leading the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Special on the return trip to Denver when it entered the community of Henderson, Colo., shortly before 7:45 p.m. When it crossed East 124th Avenue at an estimated at or above 50 mph, a video shows two people "hanging out of the left side of the cab" apparently looking at something on the track ahead, a deputy writes in the report.

Investigators determined Yarish was photographing with her cellphone on the east side of the tracks when a couple and their 13-year-son on the west side saw her. "She looked to be focused on her phone, pointed at the train," according to the report. ... Yarish, 56, died instantly from traumatic injuries. Videos of the moments before the collision, and one of the collision itself, were collected from witnesses on both sides of the track, a drone operator, and a security camera at a nearby business.
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