The Roaring Camp Beach Boardwalk Train collided this afternoon, July 3, with a minivan and an SUV in downtown Santa Cruz. There were no injuries.
The train was on its way back to its Felton home after dropping off passengers at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
The accident, at 12:41 p.m., occurred at the intersection of Laurel Street and Chestnut Street.
A white Mazda minivan turning eastbound on Laurel Street failed to yield for the oncoming train heading northbound on Chestnut Street. The train engineer was unable to stop the train in time to avoid collision with the vehicle.
The resulting collision pushed the minivan backward, causing is to smash into a Chevy SUV behind it.
There were no injuries in either crash, according to Santa Cruz police.
Both automobiles sustained front end damage. Only minor damage was sustained by the train when it collided with the vehicle.
The driver of the minivan was a 63-year-old from Santa Cruz. A preliminary investigation indicated the train had the right-of-way, police said.
The vehicle was attempting to turn eastbound on Laurel Street when the train struck the vehicle. Laurel Street at Chestnut and Center Street was closed temporarily as a result of the collision investigation.
Traffic was rerouted through the area. The roadway reopened within two hours of the incident.
The Roaring Camp train crew checked all of their equipment and continued to Roaring Camp in Felton. The minivan and SUV were towed from the scene.
