Woman, 64, killed by SEPTA trolley while jogging near Clark Park

A woman out for a run died Monday morning when a SEPTA Route 13 trolley hit her at 45th Street and Chester Avenue, close to Clark Park, according to police accounts reported by several Philadelphia news outlets.

Police named her as Samuber Shikhverdieva, 64, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6abc and NBC10 reported. Those outlets said she was heading south on 45th Street, and the trolley was moving east on Chester Avenue, when the collision happened around 9:10 a.m. Police told the Inquirer and NBC10 that her death was declared at the intersection at 9:28 a.m.

Most outlets placed the crash in West Philadelphia, while 6abc described the location as Southwest Philadelphia.

Several people who saw what happened told 6abc that she seemed to have earbuds in. In their account, the trolley had halted to let riders board, then pulled ahead while she was still making her way across Chester Avenue. Someone standing on the far side of the corner tried to warn her before she was hit, 6abc reported.

Nick Keen, a Southwest Philadelphia resident who reached the corner at roughly the same moment as emergency crews, told 6abc he understood a person was beneath the trolley only once workers began raising it. "It sounds like she didn't hear the trolley coming," Keen said, according to 6abc.

Carla Yengo-Kahn, who told NBC10 she passes through the University City area every day, said in her experience the trolleys reliably obey stop signs. "I have to say I'm totally shocked," she told the station.

NBC10 said a dozen or more riders were on board when the crash occurred. Trolley service was disrupted while crews handled the scene, and shuttle buses covered the stretch from the 40th Street Portal to 49th Street and Woodland Avenue, the station reported. The stranded passengers were later carried onward by bus.

SEPTA issued a statement expressing sympathy to the woman's relatives and saying it had arranged support for the operator, according to the Inquirer, 6abc and NBC10. The agency said it would keep cooperating with Philadelphia police as their inquiry continues.

Police said the investigation is still open. None of the outlets reported any charges or a determination of who was at fault.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6abc Action News and NBC10 Philadelphia. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/709