Surfer Walking on Tracks Is Hit by Train, Breaks Arm

A surfer walking on the railroad tracks in San Clemente was struck and injured Sunday by an Amtrak train, police said.

The unidentified 45-year-old man from San Clemente, accompanied by a female friend, was carrying his surfboard along the tracks about 11:30 a.m. when a southbound train approached, said sheriff’s Lt. Tom Garner.

“The train was doing about 40 mph when [the conductor] saw them and started to slow,” Garner said. He added that the train’s horn also was sounded.

The woman was able to get out of the train’s way, but the man “was hit, apparently by the suction caused by the train,” Garner said.

The man broke his arm; he was treated at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

He was also cited for trespassing on railroad property.

Garner said the surfboard may have contributed to the accident. “The surfboard is like a big sail,” he said. “It’s like trying to hold a big kite from flying in the air. He’s just lucky the train wasn’t going real fast.”