An Innisfil neighbourhood is left “shocked” and saddened after a woman died in a collision with a GO Transit train Monday night.
Rose Savella, a next-door neighbour of the woman she identifies as Maria Persand, has started a GoFundMe page for Persand’s family. After being online for about a day, it has already raised nearly $11,000 from more than 170 donors.
“She was a dear friend,” Savella told InnisfilToday in an email. “Always a happy soul. We are all shocked and trying to put the pieces together.”
Savella described Persand as a loving wife and mother to three boys.
Few details are being released by officials related to the incident. However, Metrolinx media relations confirmed a person was struck Monday, Jan. 20 at about 7 p.m.
The incident happened around the 7th Line.
“There were minor impacts to service as a result of the incident and normal service resumed last night,” Metrolinx said Tuesday morning.
South Simcoe Police Service spokesperson Samah Othman says local officers, firefighters and paramedics attended the scene, along with representatives from GO, and located a “deceased person.”
“The GO train was stopped on the tracks and the passengers were removed from the train and boarded GO buses,” she said. “Due to the sensitivity and private nature of this incident, no further information about the deceased or the incident will be provided by South Simcoe police.”
Donations will help cover funeral costs during this "very difficult time," Savella said.
