It was a close call for some 60 people on a passenger train in Ventura County, when police say the train smashed into a vehicle which had become stuck on the tracks by a drunk driver.
It happened just after 7:30 Sunday night, near the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura. The southbound Amtrak train was approaching the train station at about 15 to 20 miles an hour when the crew spotted a vehicle on the tracks at Garden Street. They tried to make an emergency stop, but hit the vehicle. Police say there was no one in the vehicle.
Investigators say Arcelia Delgadillo of Ventura was driving when she accidentally drove onto the tracks, and got stuck. The 27 year old woman and a male passenger were able to get out before the train hit, but she was arrested on a DUI charge.
None of the people on the train were hurt.
In 2015, a truck which became stranded on train tracks in Oxnard resulted in the derailment of part of a Metrolink train, an accident which led to the death of a Metrolink engineer.