A pedestrian was struck and killed by a Metro A Line train on Monday in Pasadena, on tracks south of Fillmore Station near Glenarm Street and Arroyo Seco Parkway. The collision forced Metro to shut down service between the Fillmore and South Pasadena stations, disrupting commutes.
Pasadena Fire Department personnel responded to the scene and confirmed the fatality, according to Pasadena Now. Officials said the pedestrian was struck by the A Line train on the stretch of track just south of Fillmore Station. No further information on the cause of the pedestrian's death or their identity was immediately available, the outlet reported.
With the tracks closed, Metro moved quickly to get riders out of the affected zone. The 75 passengers who were on the train at the time were safely evacuated, and no further injuries were reported. Metro set up a bus bridge between the Fillmore and South Pasadena stations to carry passengers around the closed section while the investigation into the collision unfolded.
Trains Turned Back at Two Stations
The disruption rippled across the A Line's schedule in both directions. Trains heading toward Long Beach were turning back at South Pasadena, while trains bound for Pomona-North were turning back at Fillmore Station, leaving the stretch between the two stations without rail service until A Line service resumed. By 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, A Line service had resumed with no interruptions, Pasadena Now reported, closing out what had been a tense night for commuters and transit staff along the corridor.
Metro also used the moment to remind riders to stay behind the yellow safety line, remain aware at rail stations, and never walk on or near train tracks, per the outlet's reporting.
Not the First Fatal Strike on the A Line
Monday's death is the latest in a string of fatal pedestrian strikes on Metro's rail system in recent years. Just last month, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a Los Angeles Metro light-rail train in the Highland Park neighborhood early in the morning, according to KTLA. That incident, reported near the Southwest Museum Station in the 4600 block of Marmion Way, prompted Metro to warn riders that trains would turn back at the Southwest Museum and Heritage Square stations while officials requested shuttle buses to help stranded commuters.
The pattern stretches back further still. In May 2024, a Metro A Line train struck and killed a pedestrian near Vernon Station in South Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. That train carried 42 passengers, none of whom were injured, and Metro closed Vernon Station entirely, routing trains around it and setting up a bus bridge between the Washington and Slauson stations. More than a decade earlier, in January 2014, a man was killed by a Metro Gold Line train in South Pasadena after he did not move from the train's path, officials said at the time, according to the Times. Metro responded then much as it did Monday night, suspending service between the Highland Park and South Pasadena stations and shuttling riders by bus until the tracks reopened.
Safety Numbers Behind the Headlines
Metro's own data shows the agency has been tracking safety trends closely across its bus and rail network. According to a GovTech report on the transit agency's Monthly Safety Tracker, Metro recorded 25 safety incidents per 1 million boardings in January. The same dashboard showed violent crime on Metro fell 6.7 percent in 2025 compared with the year before. None of that data speaks directly to pedestrian-train collisions, but it reflects the broader safety picture Metro has been publicizing as it manages a system that keeps intersecting with foot traffic along its rail corridors.
For now, Pasadena officials have not released additional details on what led the pedestrian onto the tracks south of Fillmore Station, and investigators had not identified the victim as of early Tuesday. The A Line is running again, but Monday's fatality adds to a growing list of similar tragedies that have periodically paralyzed stretches of Metro's rail network over the past decade.
