Bicyclist Riding on Basilone Trestle Is Killed by Train

A 21-year-old San Clemente man trying to outrun an Amtrak train on his bicycle was struck and killed Wednesday morning on a narrow bridge near Trestles Beach, a popular surfing spot.

As his friend clung to the side of the bridge and screamed for him to do the same, Jeffrey Hutto was killed by the San Diego-bound train traveling at 50 m.p.h.

“They were riding their bikes about 50 yards apart when the train approached,” said a Trestles Beach lifeguard who saw the accident. “One of the guys jumped off of his bike and was holding onto the side of the bridge and the other guy just continued to ride. The train was going faster than he was and he got hit.”

The accident occurred on the Basilone Trestle, a 75-foot-long, 12-foot-wide wooden bridge over San Onofre Creek near Camp Pendleton, half a mile south of San Clemente.

Although warning signs are posted on the bridge, surfers and bicyclists sometimes use it illegally. But this was the first accident there in at least five years, Amtrak spokesman Bruce Heard said.

The lifeguard, who did not want to be identified, watched the accident from his stand on the beach about 100 yards away. He said the two men were wearing cycling gear, including helmets.

“They were riding along the beach, just checking out the waves and heading towards the (San Onofre) power plant,” he said.

The lifeguard was among the first people to arrive at the scene and said, “It was obvious that he didn’t suffer any pain. He died instantly.”

Witnesses said the train’s engineer had been honking the horn and was trying to stop the train.

The seven-car train, which originated in Los Angeles, had 125 passengers. It stopped about 200 yards south of the accident, authorities said. No one on the train was injured.

The train was delayed for one hour and 45 minutes. Its southbound journey ended prematurely in Oceanside because it had to head back to Los Angeles to remain on schedule. Passengers going to San Diego or Del Mar were bused to their destinations, Heard said.

Thursday’s accident was the fourth death involving an Amtrak train in Orange and San Diego counties this year.

On Feb. 22, a 49-year-old man was struck by a train as he walked along the tracks near East Sycamore Street in Anaheim.

On Feb. 9, an unidentified man walking along tracks near 17th Street in Santa Ana died when he was hit by a southbound train.

On New Year’s Day, a 40-year-old San Clemente man was killed by a northbound train as he walked across railroad tracks near the San Clemente Pier.

Also, in the last two months of 1992, six suicides occurred on train tracks in Orange and San Diego counties.