(June 16, 2026 – Oakley, California)
A California pedestrian was tragically struck and killed in the early Tuesday morning after they were struck by a train travelling through Oakley, CA. The collision occurred on the tracks running adjacent to Main St., in the area of 3rd St by the Oakley Plaza.
The identity and age of the victim and details surrounding the circumstances preceding the incident have not been released by authorities. The Oakley Police and Contra Costa County Fire Protection District were dispatched to the site after receiving a report of a pedestrian-train collision at around 5:30 a.m. The pedestrian was dead upon responding authorities’ arrival. Though it is unclear where on or along the tracks the crash itself occurred, the deceased was located behind the Oakley Ace Hardware.
Records kept by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) indicate that the tracks where the accident occurred are owned by the BNSF Railway Company but are operated on by Amtrak and the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The area has a daily average of 13 day and night freight or intercity passenger trains. They travel at speeds ranging up to 79 miles per hour.
Though the tracks run near populated areas, pedestrian-accessible crossings are sparse. The nearest safe location is Vintage Pkwy., which goes over the BNSF tracks and has a pathway; however, the sidewalk is neither accessible nor visible to those not approaching it from the north and south. The next-nearest locations, Rose Ave. and Big Break Rd., either have no sidewalk at all or no pedestrian-designated crossing. The infrequency of pedestrian-safe crossings may make it hazardous, if not entirely unfeasible, for those traveling by foot to find a sufficiently safe location to cross the tracks.
The pedestrian fatality in Oakley marks just one of the many that make California the state with the most pedestrian-train collisions in the United States. FRA data for 2025 indicates that at least 153 pedestrian fatalities and 81 injuries took place in California in the last calendar year.