A passenger train smashed into the truck bed of a Dodge pickup at 60 miles per hour around 3 p.m. on Oct. 6. The accident happened just south of Guadalupe near Highway 1 and Brown Road.
After the train hit it, the truck collided with two parked vehicles. According to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the driver was treated for minor injuries before an ambulance took him to the hospital. The Amtrak train was traveling northbound with 245 passengers on board. Nobody on the train was injured.
David Sadecki, the spokesperson for county fire, told the Sun that although the Fire Department isn’t investigating the official cause of the accident, firefighters did talk to people while on the scene.
“I just heard that [the driver] tried to get across the tracks ahead of the train and the train hit the rear of the truck,” Sadecki said. “That’s what firefighters told me witnesses said, so those were the witnesses’ statements.”
Sadecki added that the Fire Department doesn’t respond to many train-versus-vehicle accidents. California Highway Patrol Sgt. Anthony Lassos said it’s the first train-versus-vehicle accident Santa Maria’s CHP office has received since he started working there in May. He added that officers responded to the call but aren’t investigating the cause of the accident because it took place on private railroad property.
“Normally, when we respond, it’s a railroad crossing at a highway,” Lassos said.
This accident happened 40 to 50 feet away from Highway 1. Lassos said the Union Pacific Railroad will be conducting the investigation. Jeff DeGraff, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, got back to the Sun just before press time. The train was heading toward Seattle from Los Angeles. He said the 42-year-old male driving the pickup turned off the highway and onto a private driveway, which led to a private railroad crossing.
“Unfortunately, the driver turned in front of the oncoming Amtrak train. According to the driver, the truck stalled on the tracks,” DeGraff said. “Given that the accident occurred at a private crossing, no citations were issued.”
This article appears in Oct 9-16, 2014.