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Friends of a woman who died Tuesday in a light rail accident gathered around a makeshift memorial near the track this afternoon to pay tribute to the victim.

Jessica Lubken, 26, of Denver, died after being dragged by a light rail train near the intersection of Welton and 24th Streets. She was identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner this morning.

An autopsy was to be done today, after which the cause and manner of death will be released.

Floral bouquets, burning incense and farewell notes were attached to the base of a streetlamp at the intersection of 24th and Stout streets, a few feet from where Lubken got caught up under a light rail car and was dragged.

Friends knew her as “Jessa.”

“Jessa was surrounded by love,” said Samantha McDermott. “She was the smile on your face.”

McDermott said Lubken was a bartender. Lubken had worked at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret in downtown Denver, among other jobs.

“She was a burner in spirit,” said Kim Franco, adding that Lubken embodied the “Burning Man” culture, in her art and self-expression.

Lubken also was a member of the local cycling community and was a fixture in her Five Points neighborhood on the edge of downtown.

“She was a social butterfly,” said Randal Mentzel. “This was her hood, this was her side of town.”

Denver police homicide investigators and RTD are still looking into the fatal accident.

The accident occured on a stretch of the D-Line where tracks run on either side of a sidewalk, near where the two sets of tracks collapse into one, said RTD spokesman Scott Reed.

A train heading north must sometimes wait for a southbound train already on the single track to clear out before it can continue north. If the delay is significant, train operators can contact dispatch and seek permission for passengers to deboard while the train is waiting. Passengers wanting to get off must to press a button from inside the car to open the door.

But even when passengers deboard at that spot, riders are not suppose to board the train there, Reed said. Riders should only board trains at designated stations.

Reed could not comment on how Tuesday’s accident happened, citing the pending investigation.

Witnesses told Denver police that Lubken stood on the tracks and waved the light rail to a stop, before walking to the side of the train and getting dragged under it as it took off.

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.