Christine McElroy, 26, fell while crossing the CSX railroad tracks near North State Street with her aunt, Wanda Mighell, and a third woman about 1:30 a.m., police said.
Mighell, 48, went back to help McElroy, the train engineer told police. Both women were struck by the train, which could not be stopped or slowed in time.
McElroy, a mother of two, died immediately. Mighell of Madison was taken to TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Township. The extent of her injuries was not disclosed, but she is expected to recover, Painesville Police Lt. Denise Mercsak said.
The women were crossing the tracks after leaving Tony's Subway Inn, a nearby bar. After the accident, the third woman ran back to the bar for help, Mercsak said, then left without identifying herself. When police found her later, based on identification by people in the bar, she denied being with the other women.
Mercsak said the location is "a clearly posted no-trespassing area that is not near an intersection." She said the cut-through is frequently used by people in the neighborhood.
A cook from the bar was killed when he was struck by a train "at the exact same place" in the early morning hours last Oct. 8, Mercsak said. Tests showed the cook was intoxicated.
Ten people have died in accidents involving trains in Painesville over the past decade.
Police have issued 52 citations for trespassing around the tracks near the inn in the last three years, Mercsak said. Trespassers have torn down gates put up to discourage them.
"We really, really, really want to emphasize to stay off the tracks," she said. "This was tragic on two counts. A young woman is dead, and two little kids lost a mom."
No more information about McElroy was available.
The train engineer was badly shaken by the incident, but not at fault, Mercsak said. "He blew the horn and tried to slow it down, but there was nothing he could do."
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