Mother Killed While Saving Toddler From Oncoming Train

A mother died while saving the life of her child after putting the 2 year old in harm’s way this weekend. While on a stroll with her daughter in Riverside CA on Saturday evening, 33 year old mom Susan Dibene made the dire mistake of walking across the Metrolink train tracks after the safety arms lowered and lights flashed warning of an oncoming train. The unthinkable occurred when the stroller tires became caught in the tracks.

With only seconds to spare, Dibene’s frantic attempt to free the stroller from the tracks spared her daughter’s life alone, as she unable to clear the path of the oncoming train.

Riverside police Sergeant Kendall Banks explained, “The arms were down, lights were going and she tried to cross anyway and the stroller got stuck and she didn’t make it.”

Passerby Sandra Castillo described coming upon the toddler rolling away from the tracks, unattended. “I didn’t see the mom, just saw the train go by, then the baby,” Castillo said. “I just got the baby onto the sidewalk so she wouldn’t get hit by cars…. I think she tried to take her life to save the baby, to get her out of the danger zone.”

KTLA reports that Dibene was last seen pushing the stroller away from the tracks. Her wallet was found a short distance from the accident. The baby girl was taken to Riverside Community Hospital where she was released, unharmed, to her grandmother.

The victim’s husband, Paul Dibene, said: “You have so many mixed emotions. Here you lose the mother of your child, yet she gave her life… I feel like she paid the ultimate sacrifice. She gave her life to save her daughter. The panic and the fear could’ve caused you to just freeze. It could’ve taken both their lives.”