Girl, 14, Dies After Being Shot, Left on Tracks

HAMMOND, Ind. (WLS) -- Police in Hammond, Ind. were searching Friday for a gunman who shot and killed a teenage girl just a few blocks from her home.

Sarina Tatum, 14, was shot in the head Wednesday night as her family says she returned home from visiting a friend's house. Investigators say she was found on railroad tracks less than one mile from her Truman Street address after an officer responded to 911 calls about shots fired in the area. Sarina died Thursday night.
Police are not sure if Tatum knew her attacker or if she was is the victim of a random shooting.

The teen was walking alone on Columbia near May Street in Hammond when the shots rang out.

"It's not right. It's not human. Whoever did this has no conscious," said Tracy Martinez, victim's mother.

Tracy Martinez clings to a photo of Sarina Tatum. She's the 14-year-old daughter lost just hours after a gunman's attack. Tatum was shot in the head Wednesday but died last night after lingering in critical condition.

"Right now we're going on whatever people can give us and go from there," said Rich Martinez, victim's stepfather.

Tatum's parents say they knew something was wrong when she didn't come home on time from a friend's house. The girl was found on some railroad tracks less than a mile from her Truman Street address after an officer responded to 911 calls about shots fired in the area. Witnesses tell police they did see a suspect running from the scene.

"The victim possibly had either known the shooter or had some prior involvement," said Lt. Richard Hoyda, Hammond Police Department.

Detectives are also looking at a diary entry Tatum made the day of the attack about trouble she was having with a boyfriend.

"The only boys she talked too said she's cool. I never heard anything bad," said Brittany Fuller, victim's friend.

Sarina was set to begin her freshman year in high school after being an honor student at Eggers Middle School.

"It's a sad day for all of us to learn that. Her mother is a custodian here in our building and we're a family. It's like losing family," said Barbara Fleming, Eggers Middle School principal.

Tracy Martinez wants something good to come from her tragedy and is allowing Sarina to be an organ donor. Still she struggles with her grief.

"This is not right and not supposed to happen to a 14-year-old girl. She is beautiful and had her future ahead of her. It's just not right," said Martinez.
School resumes next week in Hammond. School officials say they will have crisis counselors to help students deal with this crisis.

Police are asking anyone who has any information about Sarina's attack, to call the Hammond Police Department.

One Reported Dead After Raleigh Train Wreck

Raleigh, N.C. — One person is dead after an Amtrak train struck a car on a Raleigh railroad track late Tuesday morning, an Amtrak representative says.

The train was traveling from Charlotte to New York when it struck the car near Royal and Hillsborough Streets.

The fatality was from the car, the Amtrak spokesman said. There were no reports of injuries on the train.

The train was carrying 191 people, including 23 students and five adults from a Durham day camp.

Further details were not immediately available, but a man traveling nearby at the time said he heard a horn and then a loud smack. The car was thrown about 50 feet from the train crossing into the woods, he said.

Stay tuned to WRAL News at Noon and WRAL.com for more on this developing story.

Unruly Dog Drags Owner To Tragic Train Death

SO sad..

HAYWARD, Calif. -- A woman was struck and killed by a Capital Corridor train in Hayward when the dog she was walking dragged her onto the tracks and into the path of the oncoming locomotive, according to authorities.

The fatal accident took place just hours after a pedestrian died from being struck by an Amtrak train in Berkeley.

According to Alameda County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. J.D. Nelson, at about 2:15 p.m. two people with a dog were attempting to cross the tracks ahead of an approaching train just north of the Hayward Station near the intersection of West Blossom Way and Meekland Avenue.

"The crossing guards were down. The gentleman was able to make it through," Nelson explained. "She tried to stop, realizing she probably couldn’t make it and the dog dragged itself and her into the train."

Amtrak's Capitol Corridor train No. 535, bound for San Jose, was likely traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour when it struck and instantly killed both the woman and the dog, a pit bull.

Nelson said the woman, in her early-to-mid 30s, was unable to simply let the dog go because of how she had the leash wrapped around her hand.

A number of distraught family members were on the scene of the crash early Thursday evening. Family members identified the woman as 31-year-old Vida Silver. Relatives told KTVU Silver and the 100-pound pit bull named Mama were inseperable.

"Her dog was her baby. Everywhere she went, the dog went," said Silver's cousin Tonya Neves. "The dog was always there."