Woman rams Washington Eastern Railway engines in Cheney

When Cheney police officers heard the dispatch call of “vehicle vs. train collision” last Monday, April 8, they assumed and feared the worst.

Arriving at the scene just east of the Marketplace Bakery & Eatery at the termination of Calispell Street, they were met with what might be considered the best situation under the circumstances.

Officers found several bystanders detaining a young woman later identified as the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee who attempted to ram a parked engine of the Washington Eastern Railway. According to the police report, the 19-year-old woman admitted to ramming the two engines at the site in an attempt to end her life.

Cheney police Sgt. Nate Conley said witnesses heard the sound of the collision that took place around 1:30 p.m. They ran around the corner of Calispell and 2nd Street to identify the source of the noise, saw the vehicle attempting to ram the engine and ran to render aid.

“It looked like she had run in to it (engine) twice, maybe three times judging by the tire tracks,” Conley said.

The witnesses were able to get the woman out of the vehicle, called 911 and waited until officers arrived. Conley said the woman was not injured since the Jeep’s airbags had deployed. She was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].