Woman Hit by Amtrak Train in Ventura, Killed
A woman who appeared to be a local transient was struck by an Amtrak train Thursday evening in what police say was an apparent suicide.
The woman was hit about 4:45 p.m. near Figueroa Street and Harbor Boulevard, in front of Seaside Park and about 60 yards from the train depot.
As the five-car, two-engine train, headed from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo, slowed for a scheduled stop in Ventura, the woman stepped in front of the train.
“I heard the horn blowing, but I didn’t see her on the track,” said Trish Farmer, who was walking her dog nearby. “When I looked up, I saw the body . . . and I thought she just fell off the train.”
The woman, whom Farmer described as white and in her late 60s, was dragged about 20 yards before slumping against a fence along the tracks. The Ventura County medical examiner was attempting to identify the woman Thursday night.
Sandra, a Ventura resident who would not give her last name, was waiting with friends at the depot and noticed the woman before the incident.
“She was walking back and forth,” said Sandra, who was headed to Santa Maria. “She was just, like, waiting for something.”
The accident delayed the train, which was due to arrive in San Luis Obispo at 8:05 p.m., but did not seriously affect traffic.
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