Woman struck and killed by train in Lodi
Apr. 30—An investigation remains ongoing as authorities determine what led up to a woman being struck by a train in Lodi over the weekend.
Lodi Police Department received a call from Union Pacific Railroad at 7:33 a.m. on Saturday that a pedestrian had been struck by one of its southbound trains near Turner Road, reports state.
Police said that when officers arrived, they attempted to perform life-saving measures on the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Union Pacific police arrived and took over the investigation shortly thereafter, police said.
The victim's identification is being withheld, pending notification of next of kin.
Meg Siffrin, a spokeswoman with Union Pacific, said the incident occurred near Sacramento Street and Turner Road, and not near a railroad crossing.
This was the first fatality involving a train in Lodi since 2022, according to News-Sentinel archives.
On Jan. 21 of that year, a 33-year-old woman was struck and killed by a train near Lockeford and Sacramento streets at 1:09 a.m.
It was the same intersection where 64-year-old Michael Ramey was struck and killed on Jan.4 of that year.
Prior to those two deaths, there had not been a train fatality in Lodi since 2020.
Victim in Harney Lane crash identified
The San Joaquin County Medical Examiner and Coroner's Office identified the victim in a deadly vehicle collision in Lodi as 77-year-old Carol Martin of Stockton.
Lodi Police Department officers responded to a collision at 4:37 p.m. on April 17 at the intersection of Harney Lane and Hutchins Street.
Upon arrival, officers and medical personnel found three vehicles involved, along with injured occupants.
Life-saving measures were performed on one of the individuals involved in the collision — identified this week as Martin — but that person was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Investigators determined that one of the drivers, a 37-year-old woman, caused the crash.
According to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's booking log from that day, a 37-year-old woman named Monica Vargas was arrested by Lodi officers on suspicion of driving without a license and vehicular manslaughter.
She was booked into San Joaquin County Jail at 1:40 a.m. the morning of April 18, and is being held on $255,000 bail.
She is expected to appear in San Joaquin County Superior Court for arraignment on Tuesday, May 7 at 8:30 a.m.
No further information about the collision has been released.
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information about the collision is asked to call Motor Officer Gerardo Ramirez at 209-269-4816, or email gramirez@lodi.gov.
