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Man Struck, Killed by Train Near Refugio State Beach
By William M. Macfadyen, Noozhawk Publisher | 
3 p.m. | Published on 07.27.2009
A Goleta man was struck and killed by a train Sunday evening as he was crossing the railroad tracks south of Refugio State Beach, authorities said.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau on Monday afternoon identified the man as 38-year-old Murtaza Kassim Ali, according to public information officer Drew Sugars.
Investigators say the man and his wife parked their car along Highway 101 about 6 p.m. Witnesses told officials that Ali got out to check on a future campsite, and he didn’t see an approaching Amtrak train. The passenger train blew its warning horn before applying its brakes, but was unable to stop in time, according to Sugars.
Ali was struck and knocked several yards from the point of impact. He died before emergency medical personnel arrived.
The Coroner’s Bureau will conduct toxicology tests as is standard procedure, Sugars said.
Sunday’s incident marked the second time in a week that a pedestrian had been hit by a train. On July 20, a woman was struck near Gaviota; her injuries were not life-threatening.
— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Comments
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» on 07.27.09 @ 03:13 AM
I hate to sound insensitive but I’m just always so curious when these things happen. How in the hell does an intelligent alert adult get hit by a train? Trains make a lot of noise and there is only one place that there could be a problem ...between those two long parallel metal things ? I am guessing trains will soon be outlawed.
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» on 07.27.09 @ 03:17 AM
I wonder how long before we have to build a suicide barrier the full length of the Train route? Or outlaw trains?
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» on 07.27.09 @ 04:37 AM
Wait, is the a repeat of an earlier reported item where the man attempted to “beat” the train? Or is this another incident? It’s only 4:45 a.m. Monday July 27th right now.
Thanks.
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» on 07.27.09 @ 11:29 AM
This is the 4th or 5th time this month that someone has been hit over here…Also the woman who was struck near Gaviota on the 20th ended up passing away from her injuries
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» on 07.27.09 @ 01:07 PM
TRAIN!!! You dont try and beat the TRAIN!
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» on 07.27.09 @ 08:09 PM
Hopefully the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office will charge this damned train engineer for terrorism! At least Frank Ochoa will be able to charge him his entire life’s savings as a fine “for the puiblic good” or at the very least he can order several attorneys to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars out of public funds for their fine, fine legal work in “defending” both sides of this important, serious legal issue. Somebody MUST be imprisoned for many decades in order for there to be justice for the dents suffered by the poor, poor locomotive.
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» on 07.27.09 @ 09:27 PM
Sometimes, trains don’t make noise as they approach. Depending on the wind and the speed of the train, they can be quite silent. Depending on the conditions, sound waves can’t travel ahead of the train, thus silence. I had a close call once, because I didn’t hear the train. If I didn’t see it, I think I would’ve been hit. Freaky!!
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» on 07.28.09 @ 08:42 AM
The person killed was not racing the train or drunk or any of that nonsense. He knew the train was coming but sometimes it’s hard to gauge the speed and magnitude of a speeding train.
His wife was watching this whole thing and didn’t deserve to lose her husband. and certainly doesn’t deserve to see these kind of idiotic comments either.
We all make mistakes and sometimes they are deadly.
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» on 07.31.09 @ 06:24 AM
Ok so the sound is hard to hear with ipods on- that’s what eyeballs and common sense are for.
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» on 08.21.09 @ 04:49 PM
You see train tracks, you stay the hell away from them even if you don’t see or hear a train coming!!!!!!
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» on 01.27.10 @ 01:53 PM
I really feel for his wife who saw this whole thing. I am sure she still has his good memories… They really need to protect future accidents…
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