RINCON POINT : Serviceman Dies When Hit by Train

A 25-year-old serviceman from Point Mugu Naval Base was hit and killed by a freight train Saturday night after he had fallen asleep on the tracks near Bates Road and the Ventura Freeway near Rincon Point.

The incident occurred about 10:20 p.m., according to a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

The man, whose identity was being withheld Sunday pending notification of his family, had been walking to Santa Barbara with a friend, Colin Knobloch, also from Point Mugu. After walking a few miles, the two men stopped to rest on the tracks a few miles from the Santa Barbara County line, the Sheriff’s Department statement said.

A train moving 40 m.p.h. on its run from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo rounded a slight curve near where the men had stopped. Because of the curve and the darkness, the train’s engineer didn’t see the men until 20 seconds before impact.

As soon as the engineer spotted the men, he pressed on his horn. Knobloch heard the horn and jumped out of the way, after trying unsuccessfully to rouse the victim, Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said.

Knobloch “realized, if he didn’t get out of the way, he’d get hit,” Wingate said.

Results of toxicology tests, which will show if the victim was intoxicated, will be available in two weeks.

Wingate said the man’s identity may not be available for a day or two, because the Navy sends an officer in person to notify relatives when a military person has died.