Man Struck and Killed by Amtrak Train

A 19-year-old man who apparently rode his bicycle around lowered railroad crossing gate as warning lights flashed was struck and killed Thursday by a southbound Amtrak train.

Authorities said Gerardo Cervantes, a resident of San Juan Capistrano, was hit by the train just north of Ortega Highway at 4:08 p.m.

Stephanie Miller, a spokeswoman for Amtrak, said the train’s engineer, whose name was not given, was “highly upset” after the accident.

The engineer “got out of the train in tears and was hugging the dead young man,” Miller said. “It’s always unfortunate when someone crosses the crossing and does not look for a train. It’s very upsetting because many times, there is nothing an engineer can do because it’s hard to brake in instances like this.”

The train was due into the station in San Juan Capistrano at 3:58 p.m. The accident delayed its arrival until 5:53 p.m., Miller said.

The train was traveling at the legal speed of about 55 m.p.h. when it truck Cervantes, Lt. Harold Schaffroth of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.