Couple Uninjured After Vehicle Is Hit By Train

At 12:23 p.m. Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to a vehicle accident on Highway 101 southbound, just south of Tajiguas Point.

 

The call was initially reported as a single vehicle rollover, but as crews were en route the call was updated to have collided with a train. 

 

When crews arrived on scene they determined a couple visiting from China was occupying the vehicle. The female lost control of the vehicle for unknown reasons and traveled off the highway and down an embankment. It rested in a ditch near the railroad tracks, reports Santa Barbara County Fire Department Public Information Officer Mike Eliason.

 

The couple was able to self-extricate and were not injured in the crash. They were standing on the railroad tracks when an Amtrak train came around the corner at its normal rate of speed. The couple was able to get off the tracks to safety, but the vehicle was struck by the train, said Eliason.

 

There were 51 passengers and 5 crew members onboard the Amtrak Train. It halted service for a while but later continued north.