Truckee woman killed had headphones on, couldn’t hear train coming

TRUCKEE — A woman who was struck and killed by a train during an afternoon jog Wednesday was wearing earphones playing loud music and didn’t hear the danger, officials say.

The Truckee Police Department received a report at 1:40 p.m. of a person hit by a train on the tracks underneath and east of the Highway 267 overpass. First responders soon found the body of Janaki Rose Hayes, 27, of Truckee.

An investigation determined Hayes had come from the Olympic Heights neighborhood on foot, crossing Glenshire Drive and heading to the rails on the north side of the Truckee River.

Hayes was walking or running west on the rails with the intent of crossing the river to access the Truckee Legacy Trail, police say.

“The train operators saw the victim in their path, sounded the horn extensively, slowed the train, and did what they could to avoid striking the victim,” officials said in a Thursday morning statement.

The train — a Union Pacific cargo double-decker — was stopped and remained on scene during the investigation, Police Chief Adam McGill said.

Hayes was living in Truckee after recently relocating from Oregon.

Alcohol and/or drugs do not appear to be a factor in Hayes’ death.

While an announcement of an official cause of death awaits an autopsy, an official with the Nevada County Coroner’s Office said it’s likely due to blunt-force trauma.

The train was traveling from Sparks to Roseville, Calif. There were no passengers aboard other than the operators.