Killer Trains: Three Days, Three Deaths

A person was hit and killed by an Amtrak in Oakland this morning, the third train death in the East Bay since Friday

Updated 11:00 AM PST, Sun, Jul 5, 2009

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A person was stuck and killed this morning by an Amtrak train in Oakland, the third train-related fatality in the East Bay since Friday, a company spokesman said.

Just before 9 a.m. today, it was reported that a train struck someone on the tracks just south of the Jack London Square station in Oakland, spokesman Cliff Cole said.

There were 254 people on train No. 11 that was traveling from Seattle to Los Angeles. No injuries were reported. The train was being temporarily held while authorities investigated the incident.

The Alameda County coroner's bureau was asked to respond, Cole said.

On Friday afternoon, two other people were killed by one Amtrak train in separate incidents in Berkeley and Oakland.

The first incident happened at about 12:20 p.m. just north of the Berkeley Amtrak station and involved train No. 535, which was heading from Sacramento to San Jose, Cole said.

The train was given a new crew and, following an investigation into the crash, it continued south from the area at about 1:50 p.m.

At about 2:15 p.m., the same train struck and killed another pedestrian just south of the Oakland station, Cole said.

An Oakland fire dispatcher said crews responded to the crash near the intersection of East 12th Street and 29th Avenue.

Cole said the train was taken out of service and its 15 passengers were transferred to another train.

In all three cases it appears the victims were trespassing on the tracks, according to Cole.

According to the coroner's bureau, an unidentified woman was the victim of the Berkeley crash and an unidentified man was the victim of the first Oakland crash. Details regarding the person who was struck today were not immediately available.