PLUM BOROUGH, Pa. — A 17-year-old died Saturday at Forbes Regional Hospital after she was hit by a train earlier in the day in Plum Borough.
The accident was reported shortly after 3 p.m. near Oakmont Country Club.
“Despite numerous signals from the train, the female did not move from the tracks and was hit,” a statement from county spokeswoman Amie Downs said.
Ciara Hasselman, of Oakmont, was jogging along the Bessemer Lake Erie trial train tracks. Her sister Maeve said Hasselman had her headphones in -- while listening to music, and did not hear or see any warning signs from the train.
Ciara Hasselman was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she died about 6 p.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Maeve Hasselman said she is devastated by the loss of her little sister.
"She was a beautiful girl inside and out. She loved helping others. She was loved by her friends. Loved by her family," Maeve Hasselman said.
A medical helicopter and several ambulances were called to the scene. People who were nearby said there was quite a bit of activity.
"(It was) pretty chaotic. They waited for the ambulance to transport the person to the Medevac but, as you can see, they didn't do that," said Dennis Rutter, who was near the scene.
Maeve Hasselman said her sister was running along the popular trail, but went up onto the train tracks to avoid parts of a rocky path.
"Down by the train tracks is a very popular area to run because there's a trail there, but there's parts of the trail that are very rocky and not good to run on. So that's when people go up onto the train tracks, and that's why they run onto the train tracks until they can get up onto a safe spot," Maeve Hasselman said.
Maeve Hasselman said she hopes that no other families have to experience the loss and pain that her family is going through.
"When you're doing anything, make sure you're paying attention to what you're doing and being aware of your surroundings because if we can help one family to not feel the loss and grief that we're feeling right now, then we would like to help anyone we can," Maeve Hasselman said.
Ciara Hasselman's death has been ruled as an accident by the Allegheny County Medial Examiner's Office.
Grief counselors will be available to Riverview High School student and the school has planned a blackout for next weekend’s football game, where all students will wear black in Ciara Hasselman’s honor.
Riverview High School Principal Eric Hewitt released the following statement to Channel 11:
"The Riverview family is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our senior girls. Ciara will be sorely missed by us all.
During this difficult time, we will have all of the district counselors, as well as counselors from outside agencies, available at the Jr-Sr High School for anyone, student or staff, who may need them. In the library, we have a space for students to gather with counselors to be together when they need to be. We have also received several calls and emails from community members offering assistance. We will work through this together; students, staff, and community."