NEED TO KNOW
- Alicia Leonardi, a 42-year-old woman who was hit and killed by a train in New Hampshire on June 2, is being remembered by her family
- The New Hampshire woman was trying to get her ex-boyfriend’s dog off of the train tracks and they were both struck, although only she died of her injuries
- “She loved that dog,” said mom Cathleen Collis
Loved ones are remembering a New Hampshire woman who died after she was hit by a train while trying to rescue a dog from the tracks.
Alicia Leonardi, 42, was walking with a man — identified by loved ones as her ex-boyfriend — and a dog along the tracks on Monday, June 2 when a train approached from a corner behind them, according to the Exeter Police Department.
Police said Leonardi and the man “attempted to get the dog off the tracks” and were both struck by the train. Leonardi suffered fatal injuries while the male sustained minor injuries.
In an interview, mom Cathleen Collis described her late daughter to ABC affiliate WMUR-TV as “a very happy, smiling, bubbly girl.”
The dog involved in the incident, named Jackson, was unharmed in the crash, according to the outlets.
“She loved that dog,” Collis told NBC affiliate WBTS. “And it wasn’t even her dog.”
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Joe Gatley remembered his late cousin as a “very kindhearted person” with an infectious smile.
“She had a bright personality, a great smile,” Gatley continued. “It’s tough on the family. She’d walk in the room with a smile, and everybody smiled.”
He later added, per WMUR, “Live every day to the fullest because, you know, tomorrow’s not — there’s no guarantee.”
Police said an investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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