Woman Killed by Train in San Clemente

A train struck and killed a woman crossing the tracks north of the San Clemente Pier on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Pamela Faris, 51, of San Clemente died instantly, said Supervising Deputy Coroner Joseph Luckey.

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner was northbound through San Clemente about 2 p.m. when it struck a pedestrian about 200 feet north of the pier, said Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel.

Luckey said the woman was walking parallel to the tracks when she was struck.

The double-decker train, which travels from San Diego to Los Angeles, does not stop in San Clemente. Stessel did not know if train operators had seen Faris.

San Clemente resident Ruth Hunter was walking with her children and grandchildren near the tracks and witnessed the incident, as did people on the pier for a fall festival.

The pathway linking the beach to the city takes pedestrians across the tracks, since the only other way to get to the beach -- a sewage drain -- is impassable at high tide, Hunter said.

Through June 30, the latest date for which statistics were available Sunday, 55 people had died this year in incidents where people were walking on train tracks in California, said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.

The 63 passengers on the train that hit Faris were delayed about two hours until the coroner released it. Stessel said. Two other trains were canceled Sunday and their passengers rerouted.