A pedestrian was struck and killed by an Amtrak train Sunday afternoon in what Santa Barbara police say appears to be a suicide.
Emergency personnel were dispatched about 2:20 p.m. in response to a report that a man had been hit by a train at Palermo Drive, according to Santa Barbara fire Battalion Chief Robert Mercado.
The man, whose identity had not been determined as of Sunday evening, was pronounced dead at the scene, Mercado said.
Several witness reported seeing the man walking on the tracks with his back to the oncoming southbound train, police Sgt. Eric Beecher said.
“The engineer tried to alert the man with his horn, and tried to stop the train,” Beecher said, but was unable to do so.
He said investigators found a suicide note in a backpack that was left near the tracks.
Investigators remained at the scene for an extended period, with the train stopped on the tracks.
In a separate incident earlier Sunday, a pedestrian suffered minor injuries when clipped by a passenger train near Garden Street.
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— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
