Amtrak train collides with truck stuck on Central Coast tracks

One person was transported to the hospital with minor injuries after an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train collided with a white truck that was on the railroad tracks west of Goleta on the Gaviota Coast on Wednesday afternoon.

The California Highway Patrol first received a report of a vehicle that had crashed off the roadway and onto the railroad tracks at 2:28 p.m. off the 100 block of Hollister Ranch Road.

Crews responded less than 10 minutes later to a report that the vehicle had been hit by an Amtrak train, according to emergency radio traffic.

According to Amtrak information, the train involved was the 786 Pacific Surfliner train traveling from Lompoc to Goleta at the time of the collision.

Initial emergency radio traffic indicated that the truck’s occupants were out of the vehicle at the time of the collision with the train.

Nearby railroad tracks were closed, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesperson Karen Cruz Orduña.

The tracks reportedly would stay closed to train traffic until the vehicle could be removed, according to the California Highway Patrol.

This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Amtrak train collides with truck stuck on Central Coast tracks."