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Police identify woman killed by train

WESTFIELD — Police have identified the person struck and killed by a train Thursday afternoon in the village as a 62-year-old Sherman woman.

An investigation into the accident, which occurred at the CSX railroad tracks around 3:15 p.m., remains ongoing, the Westfield Police Department announced Friday.

A bevy of first responders were called to the tracks around the North Gale Street area after the Chautauqua County 911 dispatch center received word that a person may have been struck by a passing train. About 15 minutes into the search, which initially included members of the Westfield Fire Department and Westfield Police Department, a body was discovered underneath the stopped train.

The woman, identified by Westfield police on Friday as Dixie L. Smith of Osbourne Street, was pronounced dead at the scene by a county coroner.

Smith was last seen by witnesses walking north on the railroad track while the train was heading east toward Buffalo.

Chris Reese, Westfield fire chief, thanked the first responders that assisted at the scene, including Chautauqua County Emergency Services, the New York State Police and Westfield Police Department — along with firefighters from Portland and Mayville who provided mutual aid.

In addition, Reese said, the “Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department and CXS police worked well very together, and we were able to get the train moving in a timely manor. All I can say is there was one victim fatally hit by a train.”

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