8-Year-Old Girl Crushed By Train After Mom Ordered Her To Crawl Under It

Her brother went under the train first, and Joy Frances Collins allegedly urged her daughter to “hurry up” and go under the train.

December 19, 2018
Joy Frances Collins [Fresco Police]

Joy Frances Collins [Fresco Police]

Joy Frances Collins [Fresco Police]

By: Catherine Townsend

FRESO, CA — A 44-year-old California mother has been arrested in connection with her eight-year-old daughter’s death after she allegedly instructed the girl to crawl underneath a train in order to catch her school bus.

Fresno police arrested Joy Frances Collins, 44, on suspicion of child neglect likely to cause great bodily injury or death.

Her daughter Joyanna Harris died after crawling under the freight train on Monday evening with her nine-year-old brother, according to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

Her brother went under the train first, and Collins allegedly urged her daughter to “hurry up” and go under the train that was blocking the family's access to the stop, according to police.

The train, which had stopped for a few seconds, started moving again while Joyanna was underneath.

Joyanna was dragged around 500 feet. Collins ran beside the train and finally managed to pull out her daughter’s body.

Dyer said Joyanna was critically injured and partially dismembered.

“A mother placed her daughter in a position where she could be seriously injured or killed, and that’s what we have to look at,” Dyer told reporters. “We have a responsibility to hold that person accountable.”

Dyer said at a press conference that Collins had endangered her children in a similar fashion “at least seven times” previously, according to The Fresno Bee.

Collins was booked into the Fresno County Jail, but she was released from custody after posting bail.

Read more: People, The Fresno Bee

Next Up

Father Is On The Run After Allegedly Viciously Molesting His Own Four Little Girls

The US Marshals said Martin Munoz may be traveling with a man who helped raise him, another fugitive named Marcelo Gomez, who has been on the run for more than 20 years. Gomez is wanted for vehicular homicide out of Georgia. Authorities believe Gomez has strong ties to a biker gang and it's possible they are helping to hide Munoz. If you know where either one of these fugitives are hiding out, please contact our hotline. Host John Walsh guarantees you can remain anonymous: 833-378-7783 (3-PURSUE).

Search Continues For Mother And Daughter Kidnapped From Their Home

An ‘unknown substance’ rendered the missing woman’s husband unconscious when he answered a knock at the family’s apartment door, police say.

True Crime News Roundup: Alabama Corrections Officer Vanishes With Her Inmate Boyfriend

Plus: Dead Louisiana woman found fused to sofa; JonBenét Ramsey’s father seeks governor’s help with DNA testing; Australian man incarcerated for killing gay American in 1988; and Pennsylvania mother shoots her two boys in the head.

‘In Pursuit With John Walsh’ And FBI Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Michael Pratt Captured

On Dec. 23, the FBI confirmed they captured fugitive Michael Pratt in Spain. Pratt was arrested in connection with the operation of the GirlsDoPorn adult website.

True Crime News Roundup: Millionaire Robert Durst On Trial For Murder

A woman allegedly killed her newborn after delivering; the lawyer whose wife and son were murdered in June was shot in the head; and a toddler died after suspects police believe are students shot up his family’s home.

True Crime News Roundup: Father Accused Of Killing His 3 Children, Leaving Bodies For Wife To Find

Plus: California man uses Bitcoin to pay hitman to murder his ex; police accuse woman of abandoning baby found frozen to death in 1985; woman who may be victim of alleged D.C. serial killer identified; and Ghislaine Maxwell makes bid for lighter sentence.

Woman Kidnapped At Age 6 Reunited With Her Mother Almost 14 Years Later

Jacqueline Hernandez located her mom in Florida and reached out on social media.

Inside The Tragic Hart Family Murder-Suicide Crash

Jennifer and Sarah Hart killed themselves and murdered their six adopted children in 2018 by driving their SUV off a cliff in California.