SNOHOMISH — The Snohomish girl who was killed by a freight train near Arlington on Saturday was a popular senior and accomplished athlete at Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett.
Kristi Bartz, 17, excelled at running and had signed to compete in track and cross country at the University of British Columbia next year. She also played soccer.
Friend Cole Brandt told Daily Herald news partner KIRO-TV that hundreds attended a prayer service at the school on Sunday.
“She was such an energetic spirit,” Brandt said.
“Kristi is a hard worker, a driven athlete and as competitive as they come,” Archbishop track coach Paul Turner said before her death.
At her last track meet, on Thursday, Bartz won the 1,600-meter run in a time of 5 minutes, 18.82 seconds. She was also a member of the 1,600-meter relay team, which won that race.
Bartz in March was named as one of the Herald’s Five Athletes to Watch for the 2015 high school track and field season.
She placed second in the 800 at last year’s Class 2A state track meet, finishing fractions of a second behind the winner. She holds the Archbishop Murphy record in high jump and ran a variety of distances, from the 400 to the 1,600.
Turner called Bartz an “amazing athlete.” He and Bartz had been hoping for a state championship this season
Bartz also was part of the 2014 All-Cascade Conference girls soccer team. She was a midfielder.
“Our school is grieving at this time,” school spokeswoman Shannon McCann wrote in an email. “Please keep our school in your prayers.”
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday that Bartz was with two other teens at a popular swimming spot near the railroad tracks in the unincorporated area of Silvana when a train approached around 3 p.m.
She and the two others were on a trestle over the Stillaguamish River.
A boy from Everett jumped into the water before the train arrived. Bartz and another girl, from Edmonds, were on the trestle and tried to get off the bridge before it arrived.
The train blew its horn and applied the emergency brake. The other girl was able to get to the side of the trestle as the train passed. Sheriff’s Lt. Todd Swenson said she was not injured.
Bartz could not get out of the way and was struck by the train, which was moving at about 40 mph.
When the train had stopped, a crewmember who is a volunteer firefighter tried to give Bartz CPR, according to BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas. The boy who had jumped assisted.
The train was en route to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Portland. After Bartz was struck, the tracks were shut down until BNSF could confirm the safety of the bridge. Three trains were delayed. Normal operations resumed at about 7 p.m.
Melonas said people should stay off railroad tracks because it is dangerous and illegal. This was the ninth death on BNSF tracks in Washington this year, he said.
“This is a very tragic situation,” Melonas said.
In 2014 and 2013 combined, there were more than 30 Washington fatalities on BNSF tracks. Melonas said BNSF is going to aggressively issue citations for trespassing in an effort to prevent accidents. The fine is a minimum of $550.
“We don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he said.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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