An Amtrak train fatally struck a man on the tracks in West Berkeley on Dec. 3, 2025. Credit: Arial Nava
A man died after an Amtrak passenger train struck him near Bancroft Way in West Berkeley Wednesday.
An Amtrak official said the man was “trespassing on the track” when the northbound train, heading from Oakland to Sacramento, struck him around 3:30 p.m.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Berkeley Fire Department. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department’s Coroner’s Bureau said the man’s identity was not available as of Thursday morning.
“Amtrak is working with local law enforcement to investigate,” Olivia Irwin, an Oakland-based spokesperson for Amtrak, said in an email.
Trespassing in railroad rights-of-way “is the leading cause of rail-related deaths in America,” Just said, citing the Federal Railroad Administration. Coming in second, she said, are incidents at railroad-highway grade crossings, or where highways cross rails at rail height, like at Bancroft.
This incident was first reported by The Berkeley Scanner. It’s at least the second fatal train strike in Berkeley this year. One person who entered the BART tracks near the North Berkeley station was fatally struck in June.
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Alex N. Gecan joined Berkeleyside in 2023 as a senior reporter covering public safety. He has covered criminal justice, courts and breaking and local news for The Middletown Press, Stamford Advocate and…
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