MOMENTS BEFORE THREE FRIENDS PASSED AWAY, A TRAGIC WARNING WAS DELIVERED, AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR DEVASTATING SELFIE
Just before a terrible disaster claimed the lives of three American adolescents, they received a warning. Savannah Webster, then 13 years old, decided to go to the Covered Bridge Canyon train crossing in Utah's picturesque Spanish Fork Canyon, less than an hour's drive south of Salt Lake City, in 2011 to join her elder sister Kelsea, then 15 years old, who was hanging out with her friend Essa Ricker, also 15. The three of us sat for photos together to record their day, just like many of us did in the past.
Savannah, known to friends and family as Savy, even posted on Facebook: "Standing right by a train ahaha this is awsome!!!!"
It is believed that the teenagers were unaware that a second train was speeding toward them from behind and had intended to pose for a photo as a train sped past the rails in front of them. The three girls were seen taking a selfie just off the tracks, but not far enough to avoid being hit by the train, which was moving at an estimated 39 mph, in the one terrifying picture in question.
The Union Pacific train locomotive, driven by train conductor John Anderson, is seen approaching them from the east in the background. He remembered warning the girls as he sounded the train's horn, recalling the horrific moment his train crashed into them.
Tragically, he and Michael Anderson, the train's engineer, leaned out the window to shout at the girls to get moving, but to no avail. In an interview with Union Pacific, John clarified, "They were in their own little universe."
"As we approached, we watched in terror. For almost 12 seconds, we were able to see them until they vanished from view and the train carried on. In an instant, Kelsea and Essa were fatally wounded. John and Michael hurried to the area after getting off the train and saw Savannah still alive.
Speaking about the moment he held Savannah's hand, John added: "I told her everything would be okay, and she relaxed a little. I hoped she would make it, and for some reason, I really thought she would." Savannah later passed away in hospital after doctors advised her family that the brain injuries she sustained were 'too great', and so they switched off her life support machine.
