An Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train struck an overturned vehicle on the tracks on the Gaviota Coast Wednesday afternoon but the occupants were able to get out of the car before it was hit just minutes later, and escaped injury, according to authorities.
The California Highway Patrol at 12:20 p.m. reported a rollover vehicle crash, of a car that went off the roadway of southbound Highway 101 near Tajiguas Point and Refugio State Beach.
The vehicle driver appears to have lost control and driven off the roadway, and the vehicle went down a ditch and landed near the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, said Mike Eliason, a spokesman with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Both people in the vehicle were able to get out of the car and were not injured in the rollover, Eliason said.
They were reportedly standing on the railroad tracks when the Pacific Surfliner train came around a corner, and the train sounded its horn and applied the brakes, he said. The two people moved out of the way, but the train hit the vehicle.
At 12:43 p.m., Amtrak confirmed the collision on its Twitter train status page and said a northbound train hit a vehicle between Goleta and Lompoc.
No injuries or major damage were reported, according to Amtrak, and the passenger train was expected to be delayed by an hour or so after the collision.
Eliason said the CHP is investigating the vehicle crash.
No further details were available.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
