A Sacramento teacher was tragically struck and killed by a Union Pacific train on Saturday afternoon. Kathy Carlisle, 52, a wife and mother of three, was a popular teacher at St. Francis High School, where she had taught art, painting, sculpting, and photography for the past six years. She was apparently attempting to take photographs of one oncoming train from the tracks when another came up from behind and struck her. Police are investigating whether the conductor attempted to warn Carlisle with his whistle. Carlisle was an avid photographer who frequently carried her camera; it's unclear whether her photography session was personal or intended as part of a class assignment.
"Kathy was a passionate artist, and dedicated teacher to her students," St. Francis president Margo Reid Brown said in a statement. "She possessed the ability to teach students to connect to their audience through art and showed them the incredible power of photography to tell a story or convey a message."
St. Francis, an all-girls' school, held a prayer vigil for Carlisle on Monday morning before releasing students for the day. The school also set up a memorial for Carlisle on campus, where students have left remembrances.
Carlisle is survived by her husband, Steve Jarvis, and her children, Will, Bianca, and Violet, the latter of whom is a St. Francis freshman.
CBS13 Sacramento carries the story.
