Three friends missed a haunting detail in a selfie that might have saved their lives.
In 2011, Utah teens Essa Ricker, Kelsea Webster, and Kelsea’s sister Savannah were struck by trains near Covered Bridge Canyon, Spanish Fork. The girls had wandered onto the tracks to take photos and waved at one train, unaware another was coming from the opposite direction.
With only a few feet between the two trains, all three were hit. Essa and Kelsea died instantly; Savannah was taken to the hospital but later passed away from severe brain injuries.
Before the tragedy, Savannah had posted a selfie on Facebook showing a train’s headlights approaching, captioned: “Standing right by a train ahaha this is awesome!!!!”
Train conductor John Anderson recalled watching helplessly: “They were in their own little world… We saw them for about 12 seconds until they disappeared from our sight.”
Savannah briefly survived, and Anderson remembered telling her it would be okay. “I hoped she would make it,” he said quietly.