海角大神

California railroad accident: Two couples hit while taking pictures of sunset

Reports suggest that two couples walked onto a railroad trestle near a Santa Barbara, Calif., beach to watch the sunset. Pedestrian train accidents are rising.

|
Jeff Roberson/AP/File
An Amtrak train passes a crossing amid Illinois cornfields in this file photo. Railroad safety, particularly for pedestrians, is a mounting concern.

One woman was killed and two others were injured when two couples walked onto a railroad trestle to take pictures of the sunset Saturday evening in southern California, according to local reports. A train came around the corner and three of the four people could not run fast enough to escape, .

The case comes as some evidence points to a rise in pedestrian train accidents nationwide. found that fatal pedestrian train accidents had increased 25 percent in the first eight months of the year compared with the same period in 2012.

Saturday鈥檚 tragedy, which happened about 20 west of Santa Barbara, Calif., points to the difficulty of making railroad tracks safer. Fencing off railroad tracks is often impractical, especially in areas that are not naturally high-traffic pedestrian zones. The trestle where the accident took place Saturday was located in a rural area just north of Refugio State Beach.

The primary causes of train accidents involving pedestrians and motorists involve poor judgment, according to , a rail safety education group. They include:

  • Grossly misjudging the speed of an oncoming train.
  • Trying to beat a train across the tracks.
  • Becoming distracted by talking on a cellphone, texting, or listening to loud music.
  • A pedestrian or motorist being intoxicated.
  • Someone becoming 鈥渢oo familiar鈥 with a crossing and not heeding warning signs.
  • Walking or driving onto tracks immediately after one train has passed without looking for a train coming from the other direction.

The train involved in Saturday鈥檚 accident was traveling at the correct speed, according to the KSBY report. One woman died at the scene and the second sustained moderate injuries. One man sustained major injuries and was airlifted to a hospital and the second was not hit by the train.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
海角大神 was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to 鈥渟peak the truth in love.鈥 Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
QR Code to California railroad accident: Two couples hit while taking pictures of sunset
Read this article in
/USA/USA-Update/2014/1012/California-railroad-accident-Two-couples-hit-while-taking-pictures-of-sunset
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
/subscribe