Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
Train travel has been shut down Friday morning after the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner collided with a wood chipper in Gaviota.
At 10:41 a.m., Santa Barbara County Firefighters responded to the 11000 block of Calle Real for a reported collision with a passenger train.
When crews arrived they discovered the Amtrak traini had collided with a wood chipper that was being hauled on the back of a vehicle.
Train tracks were immediately shut down as crews searched for injuries. The driver of the pickup truck hauling the chipper sustained minor injuries but declined medical transport. There were no injuries onboard the Pacific Surfliner.
It’s unclear at this point how the train and wood chipper collided, but the cause is under investigation.
The tracks will remain shutdown for an undetermined amount of time.
This is a developing story.
Photos: SBCFD
I can only imagine how my insurance agent would react if I filed that claim.
Brad & Angie’s place? Rumor some years ago was that Pitt & Jolie owned it.
No rumor, we used to see the whole family there on the beach when we were out scuba diving along there. There were even some complaints about them tearing up the beach in their quad wheelers.
The owner before Brad and Jenn was killed at the crossing.
Friends grandfather.
There are danger signs going into and out of this area. And the tracks are obvious.
“ It’s unclear at this point how the train and wood chipper collided, but the cause is under investigation.”
Hopefully the County is able to cobble a team of excellent forensic scientists to solve this puzzle. SMH.
Wood chipper accident? Where’s Roger when we need him???
It’s pretty clear. It’s a private road with failure to yield to a 77mph train that has the ROW and a guy not stopping at a stop sign and multiple warning signs…Stop, Railroad X-ing Danger, Not the State Beach and no U turn, Danger.
Actually, it might not be as clear and easy as you all think. Mechanical failure, road conditions/obstacles, etc. Who knows.
LOL – how did suggesting it might not be a cut and dry case get me 3 angry men/women? You all are silly.
“The driver of the pickup truck hauling the chipper sustained minor injuries but declined medical transport.” Maybe that’s because what he REALLY needed was transport to jail. What the hell was he doing there??? This kind of crap is happening all over the country. Lame-ass truck drivers putting the butts where it doesn’t belong and causing a train wreck… Enough!
My inclination is to believe that it was a simple mistake by the driver who for whatever reason decided for himself that he didn’t want or need medical attention. Okay, great stuff that he wasn’t so badly injured that something more serious happened (broken legs, spinal cord, or worse). On the other hand, someone might argue that he was looking for a pay day of sorts. Anyway, let’s not play the “guessing game” here.
Really miss Roger….
Roger is on FB https://www.facebook.com/group/380562450919578375?sorting_setting=CHRONOLOGICAL