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A person was struck and killed by a Metrolink train on Christmas Day in L.A. County, leaving passengers stranded for hours.

According to Metrolink officials, the pedestrian was struck at 3:21 p.m. Monday at a railroad crossing near Sunflower Avenue and Covina Boulevard on the border of the cities of Covina and San Dimas. 

The 51 passengers on board – traveling from L.A. to San Bernardino – were stuck for more than four hours as the train was stopped on a steep slope which made it unsafe to disembark, Metrolink said. 

According to Metrolink Director Scott Johnson, three additional trains were delayed while a fourth was outright canceled. 

Pedestrian fatally struck by Metrolink train on Christmas Day
A pedestrian was fatally struck by Metrolink train on Christmas Day in Covina, CA. (KTLA)

Nearby residents say that while they are saddened by the fatal collision, it’s not the first time it’s happened at that location.

“We’ve been here about 11 years and they just had [a crash] a couple weeks ago at the same location,” Covina resident Chris Wright told KTLA 5’s Shelby Nelson. “Very sad to think that that would happen [especially] at this time of year.”

The fatal collision comes just hours before Metrolink is scheduled to shut down all service for four days to complete the final steps of a three-year modernization project. 

Why the pedestrian was on the tracks remains unknown. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is handling the investigation.