Sonja Celius remains hospitalized after she was struck near 27th Avenue and Thomas Road.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Nevada mother of three remains hospitalized in Phoenix after both of her legs were amputated following an April 25 train collision near 27th Avenue and Thomas Road, police and family members said.
Sonja Celius was in Arizona for what her family expected to be a short stop when she was struck by a train in west Phoenix. Phoenix police said officers responded shortly after 9 a.m. and found an injured adult woman with life-threatening injuries. The case remains under investigation, and police have not said what led Celius onto or near the tracks before the collision.
The crash shut down the area near 27th Avenue and Thomas Road for hours as officers taped off the scene and investigators worked around the stopped train. Phoenix Fire Department personnel took Celius to a hospital, where doctors later amputated both of her lower limbs. Her daughter, Kayla Hicklen, said the call about the crash was “one of the most traumatizing pieces of news” she had ever received. Hicklen said her family cried for days as they waited for updates on her mother’s condition.
Police have released few details about the moments before the collision. Investigators have not said whether Celius was crossing at the roadway, walking near the rail line or became trapped in the train’s path. They also have not released information about the train’s speed, the engineer’s actions, possible warning signals or nearby witness accounts. Early local reporting said the train remained at the scene after the crash. No criminal charges had been announced as of the latest public updates.
Celius’ family said she is expected to survive, but her recovery is expected to be long and difficult. Hicklen described her mother as a “walking miracle” because she survived the collision, then added that the loss of both legs was devastating for the family. Celius is the mother of three children, including a 16-year-old son. Hicklen said all three children live out of state while their mother remains hospitalized in Phoenix.
A fundraiser organized by Hicklen said Celius is from Nevada and remains under medical care in Phoenix. The fundraiser said money raised would help cover family travel, ongoing care and support for Celius’ youngest child. Hicklen wrote that her mother had lost both lower limbs in the April 25 crash. The page listed Hicklen as the organizer from Pahrump, Nevada, and described the case as a family crisis following a sudden train accident.
The site of the collision sits in a heavily traveled west Phoenix corridor where road traffic and rail traffic meet near Grand Avenue. A state rail safety report released in 2022 identified the 27th Avenue and Thomas Road area as one of Arizona’s most concerning highway-rail locations based on crash history and road design. The report said two crossings near the intersection accounted for 19 crashes from 2016 through 2020, or 17% of the state’s highway-rail crashes during that period. None of those crashes was fatal, according to the report.
The same state report ranked Thomas Road west of 27th Avenue as the highest-risk urban highway-rail crossing in Arizona and 27th Avenue south of Thomas Road as the third highest-risk urban crossing. The report said planned work under a federal rail-crossing safety program included gates, flashers, cantilevers, medians and road widening. A city project page also lists 27th Avenue and Thomas Road among Phoenix railroad crossing improvement projects, but the public pages reviewed this week did not give a full current status for every item tied to that intersection.
City and state records point to the complexity of the area. The two crossings are close to each other, with one on Thomas Road and another on 27th Avenue. The 2022 report said the intersection geometry contributed to its risk profile. It also said many past crashes involved a highway user stopped on the crossing. Those records do not explain what happened to Celius, and police have not connected her case to any earlier crash.
The investigation is expected to focus on the immediate timeline before Celius was struck, including where she was in relation to the tracks and what warning systems were active at the time. Detectives may also review train crew statements, nearby video, emergency response records and any witness accounts from drivers or pedestrians in the area. Police have not released a timetable for completing the investigation or said when more findings could be made public.
As of Sunday, Celius remained hospitalized in Phoenix, and her family said she was facing a major recovery after the amputations. The next public update is expected from Phoenix police as investigators continue to review what caused the April 25 collision.
Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.