In October 2011, a tragic incident occurred in Utah’s Spanish Fork Canyon when three teenage girls—Essa Ricker and Kelsea Webster, both 15, and Kelsea’s 13-year-old sister, Savannah Webster—were struck by a train while taking a selfie on the tracks.
The girls, enthusiastic about trains, had positioned themselves between two tracks to capture a photo with a westbound train passing by. Unbeknownst to them, an eastbound Union Pacific train was approaching from the opposite direction.
Despite the train engineer’s attempts to alert them with the horn, the girls did not hear the warning in time. Essa and Kelsea died instantly, while Savannah was critically injured and later succumbed to her injuries after being taken off life support.
Just moments before the accident, Savannah had posted on Facebook, “Standing right by a train ahaha this is awesome!!!!” This heartbreaking event serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of taking photos on or near train tracks.