Name of woman hit by train released

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Aug 15, 2006 by James Carlson

By James Carlson

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Residents of the Lawrence Community Shelter were mourning Monday night after hearing that the person hit and killed by a train Saturday afternoon was one of their own.

Jeannie Marie Newmoon, 53, was a regular at the Lawrence homeless shelter, said director Loring Henderson.

"She has many good friends here who are very sad today," Henderson said.

The Lawrence Police Department released Newmoon's name Monday afternoon.

Newmoon, a tall, slender American Indian woman with a black mane of hair, often could be seen sitting on the steps of the shelter chatting with friends.

Henderson said Newmoon had a strong will.

"She was an independent person, a very definite personality but nonetheless a sympathetic one," he said.

Police responded to the train tracks near Lincoln and North Second streets in Lawrence just after 1 p.m. Saturday and found Newmoon's body nearby. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Henderson said a trailer park near the tracks is a popular hang- out for homeless people.

A spokesman with Union Pacific Railroad said at the time that the woman was trying to pick something off of the tracks as the train approached. The accident disabled the 129-car train but didn't derail it.

Lawrence police declined to release further details, pending autopsy results.

James Carlson can be reached at (785) 295-1192 or james.carlson@cjonline.com.