WENONA -- A Bloomington woman was struck and killed by a train sometime early Monday while crossing busy freight-train tracks on foot after her sport utility vehicle got stuck in a nearby field.

Emily Valluri, 29, died of blunt-force trauma after being hit by the train just north of Wenona, Marshall County Coroner David C. Lenz Jr. said Tuesday after an autopsy.

A track inspector discovered Valluri's body alongside the tracks shortly after noon Monday. She was last seen in Bloomington about 8 a.m.

Illinois State Police reported Valluri drove through a field in a Toyota Highlander and tried to cross the tracks in her vehicle. After blowing two tires and failing to negotiate the embankment, she apparently left the SUV to cross on foot.

Valluri was then struck by an eastbound train while crossing the tracks, Lenz said. Trains come by every 15 minutes and it is difficult to tell which one struck her, he said. The last train through before the body was inspected was not the one that struck her, he said.

As eastbound trains cross under the Interstate 39 viaduct in that area, the engineer is busy looking for the signal light in that area and would not notice someone on the ground, Lenz said.

Lenz said he did not know why the woman was driving in a field. There were no obvious signs of alcohol use at the scene, he said. An inquest will be scheduled once state lab tests come back, he said.

Valluri was married and had a daughter, according to obituary information provided to The Pantagraph. She graduated from Blue Ridge High School and Illinois State University. She worked at Technisource in Bloomington.

Donations may be made on behalf of Valluri's daughter, Riya, through the Riya Valluri Education Fund at any National City Bank branch.