Popular Beach Home to Dangerous Train Crossing

According to the Ventura County News, the site where a teen was struck and killed by a train may pose additional safety hazards to pedestrians walking near the tracks.

Emma Wood State Beach-north of Ventura-lies next to a stretch of railroad tracks owned by Union Pacific Railroad. The tracks take a wide turn as they pass under the Pacific Coast Highway. The arrangement of tracks, highway and retaining walls may make the warning signals of an oncoming train difficult to see or hear.These conditions may have been contributing factors in the death of Amanda Shoemaker, a teenager from Ventura. On April 28, 2009, Shoemaker was struck and killed as she walked along the tracks. Witnesses to the accident said that it seemed as if Shoemaker and another teen walking with her could not hear the train blowing its horn even though the witnesses could hear the train approaching and sounding its horn.

Forty-two pedestrians have been killed by trains in Ventura County since 1998, and one in six of those deaths have occurred at the same site where Amanda Shoemaker lost her life. Authorities note that the beach and adjacent campgrounds are popular destinations for residents and visitors, and increased foot traffic along the railway may contribute to the unusual number of pedestrians hit by trains in the area.

If you have any questions about train accidents or railway collisions such as this one, please contact the Law Offices of Samer Habbas.