SWANSEA, Ill. -- A 58-year-old animal rescue volunteer struck and killed by a St. Louis MetroLink train in southwestern Illinois was responding to a call about an opossum on the tracks.
Sandie Konopelski of Shiloh was struck by the westbound commuter train Friday morning just east of the Swansea station. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported she was licensed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a wildlife rehabilitator.
The president of a wildlife hotline for the two states said Konopelski was responding to a call about the wandering animal. MetroLink officials declined to discuss the circumstances behind her presence on the tracks, citing an ongoing investigation.
Train service between the Belleville and Memorial Hospital stations was delayed for about two hours after the accident.
Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com
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