What To Know About Burke Teen Struck By Train

BURKE, VA — A Burke girl wasstruck and killed by a Virginia Railway Express train near Clifton at Bull Run Bridge Wednesday afternoon. Reyhan Safoglu, 13, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police say she was hiking with her 13-year-old cousin and 22-year-old brother when struck near Bull Run Bridge. Police say the cousin was able to get out of the way, but Reyhan was not.

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Fairfax County detectives continue to investigate and are working with Manassas Park Police, the victim's family, VRE and railroad officials. Here's what to know about the young girl killed in the tragic accident.

Reyhan and her family were spending a day hiking to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Her mother Emel Safoglu told The Washington Post Reyhan, her brother Baris and cousin Michael were celebrating the end of Ramadan (June 24). The three were hiking near Hemlock Overlook Regional Park.

Emel told WTOP the teens decided to walk on a rail bridge. Then they saw a train coming. Her cousin jumped and told her to jump, but she didn't and was struck. Michael told The Post the accident happened quickly, with 10 seconds between the train sounding and it striking Reyhan.

"She was 13 years old and had so much more to see in this world. She was the most loving and devoted daughter to my sister Emel and Oguz and sister to her brother Baris," wrote her aunt Sibel Lorentz, whose 13-year-old son Michael was there when Reyhan died, on a GoFundMe page.

She was about to start eighth grade and participated in a lot of activities.

A student at Lake Braddock Secondary School, Reyhan would have started eighth grade in the fall. According to The Post, she was honors student who earned A’s and participated in competitive cheer, lacrosse, field hockey, soccer and volleyball. She played violin, sang for President Obama in a children’s chorus and performed with singer James Taylor at the Kennedy Center.

She was very close with her mother and brother.

Reyhan lived with her single mother Emel and brother Baris, a student at George Mason University. After the accident, Baris tried to carry his sister to the car with a T-shirt wrapped around her head. Emel told WTOP Baris called her while she was at a friend's funeral. "The next thing I know, I’m getting a phone call from my son saying his sister’s dead, Reyhan’s dead, Reyhan’s dead, just screaming,” the mother told WTOP.

Reyhan was born on May 29, 2004, in Salisbury, Md., Emel told The Post. Her mother remembers her daughter as wise beyond her years, and the two shared a bed every night and traded dating advice.

Emel says what happened was an accident and no one should be blamed. "I don’t want my son, or her cousin, or the conductor or anybody to feel like it’s their fault," she told WTOP.

The community has raised enough money for the funeral.

Lorentz's GoFundMe page and another started by a family friend have raised enough for a proper funeral, according to Reyhan's mother. Each have raised over $20,000 each. According to The Post, a funeral will happen in the coming days.

Image via GoFundMe