Woman struck, killed in third train death in a week in Santa Barbara County

A 65-year-old woman was hit and killed by a train in Goleta on Wednesday afternoon in the same area where a bicyclist was fatally struck last week.

Emergency responders declared the woman, Ester Lopez de Reyes, of Goleta, dead at the scene, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said. She was hit on the tracks at the Amtrak train station at 25 S. La Patera Lane.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office was in the process of notifying next of kin and conducting an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, according to a news release.

An official cause and manner of death is pending toxicology and lab results. No other people were injured, the release said.

This is the third train fatality within a week in Santa Barbara County.

On Monday, a Guadalupe woman was killed when a train hit her Saturn Vue on the tracks. She reportedly tried to drive around the railroad crossing safety arms at West Main Street (Highway 166) and Guadalupe Street (Highway 1), authorities said. She has been identified as Gloria Nunez, 74.

And on July 20, a Goleta man was killed near the La Patera Amtrak station while riding his bicycle on the tracks. The Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be an accident.

The Sheriff’s Office said Edmund Alexander Backus, 51, was wearing headphones when he was hit from behind by the Pacific Surfliner passenger train.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Woman struck, killed in third train death in a week in Santa Barbara County."