A man was killed this morning on the railroad tracks near Montecito's Olive Mill Road, the Sheriff's Office reported. He'd been struck by the northbound Amtrak at about 6:45 a.m. The train engineer had blown his horn and hit the brakes on the approximately 500-ton train, but the man walking alongside the tracks was hit.
The preliminary assessment is that the death was caused by accident, though an investigation is underway. The man's identity has been withheld until after his relatives have been notified.
Investigation of the death delayed the northbound commuter train by about and hour and a half, said Michael Litschi, a spokesperson with LOSSAN, the Surfliner train agency. The southbound train was similarly delayed. He asked that people remember how important it is to be safe near railroad tracks and to never walk alongside them.