Authorities ID Pedestrian Struck, Killed By SMART Train

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A man struck and killed Friday morning by a SMART train at Hearn Avenue in the Roseland area of south Santa Rosa has been identified as 68-year-old Michael Rosenberg, a resident of Rohnert Park, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

The collision happened around 5:35 a.m. Friday about 150 yards south of the Hearn Avenue crossing, Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit police spokeswoman Jennifer Welch said.

The male was walking down the middle of the tracks when he was struck, Welch said.

Santa Rosa police officers were dispatched to the scene at 5:41 a.m. and upon their arrival were met by medical personnel who had already determined the male pedestrian, later identified as Rosenberg, was deceased, according to SRPD Sgt. Jonathan Wolf.

"The SMART train had stopped south of the victim on the tracks," Wolf said. "The train was carrying passengers at the time of the collision and nobody on the train was injured."

According to Wolf, Santa Rosa police accident investigators along with representatives from SMART responded to the scene. Their investigation Friday included reviewing video footage from SMART.

Based on the video, Wolf said, investigators determined that at the time of the collision, Rosenberg was walking southbound on the railroad tracks south of Hearn and "did not make any attempt to move from the tracks or deviate his course as the train approached him."

"The train did not have time to stop prior to striking the victim," Wolf said. "The train engineer utilized the train’s horns to warn [him]. It appears he was killed instantly."

There were fences on both sides of the railroad tracks and "No Trespassing" signs were posted at Hearn Avenue, Wolf said.

The fatal incident initially delayed trains for up to 40 minutes. By 9 a.m., SMART reported that southbound trains were delayed by 15 minutes but were still running between Cotati and San Rafael. Northbound trains from San Rafael to Cotati were delayed by 10 minutes.

At 12:24 p.m., SMART officials reported that regularly scheduled service had resumed on all trains.

Earlier, when the railroad tracks were closed at the scene of the fatality, buses were used to shuttle riders between the SMART stations at Sonoma County Airport, north Santa Rosa, downtown Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Cotati, stations.

Police said the SMART train involved in the collision did not return to its normal route and was inspected by SMART train personnel.

Three other people have been killed when struck by a SMART train since service began in August 2017. Two of them were determined to be suicides.

Anyone who witnessed Friday's collision is encouraged to contact Officer Ken Ferrigno of the Santa Rosa Police Department Traffic Bureau at 707-543-3636.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Photo by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com