A wrongful death lawsuit brought against Everett, Snohomish County and two railroad operators has been dismissed by a federal judge. The case concerned Anna Baisheva, 35, who was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in July 2024 while crossing the tracks between Everett’s Harborview Park and the waterfront.

U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez granted summary judgment for the defendants in late October. Attorneys for Baisheva’s estate filed the lawsuit in 2025, alleging that the city, county, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Amtrak failed to fulfill a duty to protect her safety.

According to the lawsuit, Baisheva and her husband parked at Harborview Park and went fishing on the county-owned waterfront. As they prepared to return, a line of freight containers stretching 2 miles blocked their route across the tracks. The complaint described the obstruction as extending from the Howarth Park area through Harborview Park to Edgewater Park.

The estate’s attorneys alleged that the couple had no alternative but to climb through the containers. Baisheva was reportedly ahead of her husband when she emerged and was hit by a passing Amtrak train, according to court documents. She died from blunt force injuries. The lawsuit argued that all four defendants should have recognized the hazards and provided suitable safety measures or reasonable public access.

Lawyers for Everett and Snohomish County argued that neither government owned the property where the fatal collision occurred. The estate maintained that their responsibilities extended beyond land under local ownership. Martinez sided with the municipalities, finding that the land had not been developed to invite public use and that safer ways to cross the tracks were available.

In his ruling, Martinez pointed to beach access by a pedestrian bridge from another park, an option identified on the city’s website. He concluded that Everett and the county had no duty to protect Baisheva from the railroad hazards. He also found that the couple had assumed risks, noting their awareness that trains were operating on the tracks that day. Arguments about longstanding public use and the area’s apparent safety did not overcome that knowledge, he wrote.

Martinez also dismissed the claims against BNSF and Amtrak. According to court documents, he found that Baisheva’s decision to climb on the train to cross the tracks nullified the negligence claims. He additionally noted reports that the Amtrak engineer sounded the horn before the collision and that Baisheva appeared not to look toward the approaching train.

In a Friday email, an Everett spokesperson expressed sympathy and urged people to use designated crossings, pedestrian bridges and marked pathways. On Monday, county deputy prosecuting attorney Geoff Enns said the county believed the ruling was correct because it neither owned nor controlled the accident site. He also pointed to legal shoreline access through bridges and underpasses. Attorneys for Baisheva’s estate had not responded to multiple requests for comment by publication.