Driver Crossing Tracks Hit by Metrolink Train, Killed

SOMIS — A Metrolink commuter train bound for Oxnard struck a car and trailer rig Friday night in Somis, ejecting the driver and killing him instantly, authorities said.

The crash occurred at a private railroad crossing about 5:45 p.m. half a mile east of Somis Road.

Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said the sedan was crossing the tracks when it was struck by the train, which was traveling about 50 mph. The southbound car was hit on the driver’s side and thrown more than 100 feet into a nearby field.

The unidentified driver was ejected and died at the scene, authorities said. No one else was in the car. No one on the train was injured.

An investigator from the county medical examiner’s office was on the scene Friday night.

Besides a stop sign, there were no other crossing controls.

Oaxaca said this was the sixth fatality of the year involving a train operated by Metrolink, which provides commuter rail service to five Southern California counties. He said he did not know how many of the other fatalities occurred in Ventura County.

“This is another incident where, for some reason, the person had his vehicle on the tracks when the train approached,” Oaxaca said of Friday’s accident.

A data recorder aboard the train, similar to a “black box” used in the airline industry, will be studied by Metrolink investigators to determine when the brakes were applied, the speed of the train and when the horn was sounded, Oaxaca said. That information should be available next week.

The Metrolink train involved in Friday’s accident holds 400 passengers, but it was not known how many were on board as it made the first of two afternoon trips to Oxnard. There was one engineer and one conductor on board.

The engineer, who operates the throttle and brakes, requested to be relieved of his duty for the evening, Oaxaca said.

The train was permitted to continue on its route about 7:10 p.m.

The California Highway Patrol is also investigating the incident.