A mother of seven was killed by a train during a morning run in Arizona, with her family saying she may not have heard the warnings because she was filming herself while wearing noise-canceling headphones.
Thelma Candelaria, 47, had recently begun recording her runs around Eloy as part of a new commitment to her health. The change came around the same time she was baptized, her grieving relatives told KTVK.
Early Thursday, Candelaria posted what would become her final video. In the clip, she told her Instagram followers that she was taking running “seriously” while flashing a peace sign and giving a thumbs-up.
According to the outlet, she ran alongside the tracks and recorded one train as it passed, its horn blaring. She was then struck by a second train traveling in the opposite direction.
That train also sounded its horn before the collision, but Candelaria appeared unaware of the danger while wearing pink noise-canceling headphones, her daughter Alaisha Candelaria said.
“She was in her own world. She was singing along to Jessie Reyez, which is her favorite artist. She was laughing,” Alaisha, 29, told KTVK, describing her mother as an “angel.”
The train’s emergency brakes were applied, but it still struck Candelaria.
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Candelaria was reported missing after she failed to return home. She was later found dead at the scene.
Friends said she had recently embraced her faith, and her death came only days after her baptism.
“Thelma gave her life to Jesus Christ and was baptized,” heartbroken friend Amber Sherban wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser.
“I was blessed to witness that beautiful moment. In the days that followed, her social media was filled with gratitude, positivity and love for God. She was embracing her faith with such grace and asking Him to remove the negativity from her life.
“I find comfort knowing she gave her heart to the Lord, but my heart breaks for the children who must now navigate life without their mother.
“Thelma spent her life being a blessing to others. Now it’s our turn to be a blessing to her children.”
The fatal Arizona train accident remains under investigation. Candelaria’s official cause of death has not been released.