Train death in Aurora ruled accident
An unlicensed driver and an oncoming freight train combined for lethal results in the death of Piedad I. Kinshasa, an Aurora mother of two.
Kinshasa's Nov. 3 death after her 1995 Dodge Avenger was struck by a northbound, empty coal train on Aurora's far east side was ruled accidental Wednesday by a Kane County coroner's jury.
Anthony Pekich, a traffic investigator with the Aurora Police Department, testified that a video recording on the train showed the blinkers flashing and horn blaring at the crossing at Liberty Street about 9:30 p.m.
One car sped under the descending crossing arm, but the front of Kinshasa's car got stuck under it. Her car was not over the tracks and if the train passed, it would have missed the car, Pekich said.
Witnesses said they heard Kinshasa's car engine revving as she tried to put the car in reverse and back up, Pekich added.
He testified that he believes Kinshasa, 42, who was driving on a learner's permit, panicked. She told her 11-year-old son, Juan, to get out and run and then she put the car into drive instead of reverse. The car moved forward, and the train, which was going about 39 mph, hit the rear driver's-side of the car, spinning it and ejecting her from the vehicle.
Kinshasa's daughter Andrea, a 2-year-old who was buckled in a car seat in the rear, was not injured in the crash, nor was Juan.
"She misjudged the distance," Pekich said. "I think she was trying to get out of the way. I think she just ran out of time."
Chief Deputy Coroner Loren Carrera said Kinshasa, a fitness instructor, died of head injuries. Carrera said toxicology results showed no drugs or alcohol.
At the time of the accident Kinshasa was running errands in preparation for a family vacation to her native Guatemala. Her fiance, Omar De Leon, said he and the children are coping as best they can. The pair planned to marry Dec. 12.
"There's always something empty -- physically, she's not there any more," he said. "I think she did everything she could to save the kids. She died like a heroine."