Thelma Candelaria, 47, was struck near an Eloy railroad crossing after leaving home for her routine early-morning exercise.
ELOY, AZ — A 47-year-old Arizona mother was struck and killed by a Union Pacific train during an early-morning run in Eloy after her family became concerned when she did not return home, according to police and family accounts.
Thelma Candelaria died Oct. 15 near the railroad crossing at Sunshine Boulevard and Frontier Street. The Eloy Police Department said officers responded shortly after 6 a.m. to a report that a pedestrian had been struck by a train. Police and firefighters found Candelaria dead at the scene. Her family told authorities she had gone out for what they described as a routine morning jog and had not returned.
Investigators said the engineer of a Union Pacific train saw Candelaria walking between two railroad tracks and immediately sounded the train’s horn and activated its emergency braking system. Police said another train traveling through the area from the opposite direction had also sounded its horn. The train was unable to stop before striking Candelaria. The railroad crossing was temporarily closed during the emergency response and investigation before reopening.
Candelaria’s daughter, Alaisha Candelaria, later told Arizona’s Family that her mother had been recording part of her run on social media shortly before she died. Alaisha said video from her mother’s run, along with surveillance footage from a nearby camera, helped the family understand the final moments before the collision. According to her account, Candelaria was recording one train when another approached on a separate track from the opposite direction.
Alaisha said she believes her mother did not notice the approaching train. She said her mother was wearing earbuds and that the noise from the train she was already watching may have made the second train more difficult to hear. Police have confirmed that both trains sounded their horns and that the engineer of the train that struck Candelaria applied the emergency brake. Authorities have not announced a final determination about the circumstances that led Candelaria to be between the tracks.
The family has also pushed back against online speculation about Candelaria’s death. Alaisha said the death was not intentional and described her mother as a positive person who was in good spirits during videos recorded on the morning of the collision. She said people throughout her life had told her how fortunate she was to have Candelaria as her mother. The family is now preparing funeral arrangements while adjusting to her sudden absence.
Published reports and family material contain differing accounts of how many children Candelaria had. A family-organized online fundraiser says she leaves behind seven children, including three minors. In a separate interview with Arizona’s Family, Alaisha described Candelaria as a mother of eight and said she was facing the responsibility of helping care for seven siblings. No authoritative public record reviewed for this report resolves the discrepancy.
The fundraiser describes Candelaria as a devoted mother, neighbor and friend who had recently celebrated her 47th birthday. It says her adult daughters plan to help provide stability for the younger children following their mother’s death. Family members and friends have also remembered Candelaria for her generosity, faith and willingness to help others. According to family accounts, she had been baptized less than a week before the fatal collision.
The Eloy Police Department’s vehicular crimes unit is continuing to investigate the death. Authorities have not released a final investigative finding explaining why Candelaria was between the railroad tracks or whether any additional factors contributed to the collision. Police have said the train crew attempted to warn her and stop before the impact.
Author note: Last updated October 18, 2026.