Woman, 20, Dies When Hit by Train

A 20-year-old Camarillo woman died Friday when her car was struck by an Amtrak passenger train in Somis.

Nicole Laster was hit shortly before 2 p.m. at an unguarded railroad crossing on a private road that runs past Hagle Tree Farm.

The northbound Amtrak Surf--liner, which was carrying several dozen passengers, was traveling approximately 70 mph when the accident occurred, authorities said.

The victim, authorities said, was returning home after visiting friends in the Somis area when she reached the railroad crossing near North Lewis Road.

A farm laborer in the area saw the woman as she neared the crossing and yelled out to her about the oncoming train, said Officer Steven Reid of the California Highway Patrol.

But the woman stopped her car on the tracks and turned to wave at the man before being hit, he said.

The crossing is posted with a red stop sign and a black and white sign that indicates the crossing is private. Private crossings are particularly dangerous because they lack the lights, bells and gates required by law at public crossings.

The impact of the train threw the woman from her silver Mitsubishi Eclipse and demolished the car, authorities said.

It was the fourth death at a private railroad crossing in Ventura County during the past three years, according to authorities.

The site of Friday’s crash was also one of four locations that officials went to in early November to warn farm workers about the dangers of unmarked railroad crossings.