A DeKalb resident died early Tuesday morning when she was hit by a westbound train just outside the city limits.

Laura K. Lynge, 29, address unknown, was found behind the Junction Shopping Center, 858 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb County Police said. Lynge was apparently hit by a 5:09 a.m. train.

Foul play is not suspected, DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said.

The incident also is under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Police.

Several people have died after being hit by a train on the tracks near the Junction Shopping Center. A 21-year-old NIU meteorology major, Paul Avon, died Dec. 17, 1988, when a train also hit him behind the Junction Shopping Center. Avon’s death was ruled accidental in January 1989.

Another man committed suicide on the tracks running through DeKalb. A 28-year-old Lisle man died March 30, 1990, after a train struck him behind High Meadows Apartments, 1400 W. Lincoln Hwy.

Although police don’t know if Lynge killed herself Wednesday morning, experts say the suicide rate could rise now because it usually goes up two years after the onset of a recession.

“The higher the unemployment rate, the higher the suicide rate,” said John McIntosh, an Indiana University-South Bend psychologist who specializes in the study of suicide.