Betrayal on TRAX

If true, this is a truly disturbing story.

On Tuesday, the DesMoNews reported that a woman riding a southbound TRAX train Thursday night (DMN did not specify the date) was sexually assaulted and then severely beaten by a man before they both exited the train at Midvale Center station.

This is bad enough, but the woman told KUTV that this all occurred in the presence of roughly 15 witnesses who did nothing... or averted their eyes.

The woman told KUTV: “I turned my face and he just socked me right in the face. I felt my nose break instantly.” Midvale police confirmed that the woman "was bleeding profusely" and her nose had suffered "a substantial break."

She continued: "There was somebody sitting right next to me on the other side. So he had seen the whole thing.”

I often ride on these late southbound TRAX trains and in my experience these trains are almost always packed. The crowd naturally thins out somewhat as the trains move down the line, but given that the assault began at 4500 South and continued until the two individuals debarked at 7720 South I would be absolutely shocked if there were fewer than 15 other people on the train, witnessing this event.

Nevertheless, Midvale police had no witnesses, according to the DMN.

Most disturbing is the total absence of moral courage among any of the passengers on that train. For probably close to 15 minutes these people watched this disgusting scene... and did nothing.

Police respond quickly to these sort of incidents and could have intervened if anyone had bothered to give them a call... but no one did.

Or riders could have stood up together and nipped this whole thing in the bud... but alas, this was Salt Lake, not Shanksville, PA.

Instead, if the reports are true, on this night TRAX riders betrayed one of their own.

Absolutely sickening.

We must do better than this.