A person was killed after being struck by a train in Fresno on Monday afternoon, near the area of North and Golden State. Fresno police officers responded after receiving a report that someone had been hit by a train a little before 2:45 p.m.
According to KMPH Fox 26, officers were called to the scene following the report, and the station described the matter as an ongoing investigation. No further details about the victim or the circumstances of the collision have been released.
A Pattern of Fatal Fresno Train Strikes
Monday's death is not the only fatal train strike reported in Fresno this year. In October, a pedestrian was killed around 10:30 a.m. near San Pablo Avenue and Cambridge Avenue after being struck by an Amtrak Gold Runner train, per YourCentralValley.com. That outlet reported the investigation into that incident would be managed by BNSF's own police department, and Hoodline's earlier coverage identified the victim as 63-year-old Fresno resident Elias Ortega.
Months earlier, in May 2026, a person was killed by a train near Shields and Wishon avenues around 9:30 p.m., according to the Fresno Bee. The victim in that case had not been identified, the paper reported. A BNSF Railway spokesperson told the Bee that the crossing involved was equipped with gates, lights and bells.
Trespassing Remains the Leading Cause of Rail Deaths
The repeated fatalities in Fresno echo a broader national trend. Preliminary 2025 Federal Railroad Administration statistics cited by Operation Lifesaver show 788 trespass-related fatalities and 526 trespass injuries across the United States last year, totaling 1,314 pedestrian rail-trespassing casualties nationwide.
Federal railroad regulators have described trespassing along railroad rights-of-way as the leading cause of rail-related deaths in the country, with more than 400 trespass fatalities occurring each year, according to Hoodline's prior reporting on a separate Fresno train death. Monday's investigation remains active, and no additional information about the victim or the cause of the collision has been made public.
