Overview
- A northbound Pacific Surfliner struck two people on the tracks near Faria Beach Park around 9:45 p.m. Friday and emergency personnel pronounced both dead at the scene.
- The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit has taken the lead on the active investigation with Amtrak Police and the California Highway Patrol also on site.
- Amtrak said none of the 119 passengers or crew were injured and that the company is cooperating with investigators.
- The collision halted the train and caused multi-hour delays, with monitoring reports showing the Surfliner arrived several hours late at Carpinteria.
- Officials and rail safety groups note that trespassing is a leading cause of rail deaths on California’s coastal corridors and that past years on the Pacific Surfliner route saw most fatalities result from trespassing.