Girl steps in front of train

A 17-year-old Vina girl died on Sunday when she stepped directly into the path of an oncoming train near Vina, said Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker.

What appears to be a suicide took place about 5:30 p.m. near the Deer Creek trestle north of Vina, Parker stated.

"The engineer of the Union Pacific train said he saw the girl and blew the train's whistle, but the girl looked right at him, even making eye contact, and stepped right in front of the train," Parker said.

Because she is a minor, the Sheriff's Department would not release the victim's name.

The teen's parents were out of state at the time of the incident, Parker reported.

This is the third train versus pedestrian death in the county since Feb. 3, when Davin Diaz, 25, of Red Bluff, was struck by a southbound train near Willow Street in Red Bluff.

The second incident occurred just over a week ago, May 24, when 18-year-old Froilan Salas of Gerber was killed when he was struck by a train in Red Bluff near Aloha Street.