A man had to be pulled from his vehicle Sunday night after an Amtrak train slammed into it at the intersection of Fifth Street and Rose Avenue in Oxnard, according to Oxnard Fire Battalion Chief Steve Reyes. The collision happened around 8 p.m., and the man was extricated from the wreckage before being transported to the hospital.
A second person who was riding on the train suffered minor injuries in the crash, Reyes reported. Details on the man's condition following his hospital transport were not immediately available. The crash was first reported by Ventura County Star, which covered the incident under its traffic section.
A Crossing With a Grim Track Record
The intersection where Sunday's crash unfolded is not an unfamiliar one to Oxnard emergency crews. In May 2013, an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train carrying 192 passengers struck a car at that same Fifth Street and Rose Avenue crossing, killing the vehicle's occupant, though no one aboard the train was hurt, according to KEYT. Just two years later, a Metrolink train struck a truck stuck on the tracks at nearby Rice Avenue, a 2015 derailment that killed the train's engineer and injured 33 passengers and crew, per the Federal Railroad Administration.
The danger has not faded with time. In February 2026, another train struck a semi-truck near Rice Avenue, forcing traffic to divert onto Rose Avenue, though no injuries were reported among the 137 passengers and crew aboard that train, according to a report from 95.1 KBBY. Emergency response along this corridor typically splits between agencies, with Oxnard Fire Department crews handling extrications and medical care while the California Highway Patrol's Ventura area office investigates collisions on state highways like Route 34, per background from the Yaghmai Law Firm.
A $134.5 Million Fix Still Years Away
The City of Oxnard broke ground in February 2025 on a $134.5 million grade-separation project at nearby East Fifth Street and Rice Avenue, intended to build a six-lane flyover bridge over the Union Pacific tracks and eliminate at-grade vehicle-train conflicts at a crossing state officials had flagged as among California's most dangerous, according to Vida Newspaper. Construction began the following month, but the project is not slated for completion until 2028 or 2029, meaning the stretch of roadway will remain a chokepoint for years to come.
California's rail corridors carry an outsized share of the nation's casualties. The state led the country in rail-related trespass casualties in 2024, recording 307 such casualties including 182 fatalities, and ranked second nationally in highway-rail grade crossing deaths, according to statistics cited by California Operation Lifesaver. Nationwide, preliminary 2025 data from the Federal Railroad Administration counted 2,274 highway-rail grade crossing collisions, resulting in 285 fatalities and 766 injuries, per Operation Lifesaver.
Heavier Rail Traffic, Then a Total Shutdown
Train traffic along the coastal corridor through Oxnard has only grown busier. The LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency expanded Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service in May 2026 to six daily roundtrips through Ventura County to Goleta, a move announced via PR Newswire to meet rising passenger demand along what is described as the second-busiest intercity passenger rail line in the country. All public rail-highway crossings in the state are required under California Public Utilities Commission General Order 75-D to maintain standard crossbuck warning devices and visible emergency notification signage.
Regional rail operators have also scheduled a complete two-day systemwide shutdown of the Pacific Surfliner for September 12 and 13, suspending all passenger service between San Diego and San Luis Obispo without replacement bus bridges so crews can perform major track and tunnel maintenance across Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to Time Out. The exact cause of Sunday's crash, the specific Amtrak train involved, and updated medical details on the man who was extricated remain open questions pending further information from investigators.
