Woman Killed as Train Hits Car
A New Zealand woman visiting San Diego was killed Friday night when she was unable to get out of a stalled car before it was hit by an Amtrak passenger train near the Santa Fe Depot downtown.
The woman, 61-year-old Eileen Jeanne Hood of Christchurch, New Zealand, was pronounced dead on arrival at UC San Diego Medical Center.
Police said the collision occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. where the train tracks cross Laurel Street between Pacific Highway and Kettner Boulevard.
The car was westbound on Laurel when it became stuck in traffic while on the tracks, police said. The railroad crossing gates were suddenly activated, but the car’s engine stalled and its occupants were unable to move the car, police said.
The victim’s husband, John Hood, and another passenger, Collin Deane of Wellington, New Zealand, got out of the car safely. But Eileen Hood could not exit completely before the car was struck by the southbound train.
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