California IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Campaign to Alert Public to Rail Peril

In the wake of the third fatal train accident in three weeks, transportation officials announced plans for a public-awareness campaign designed to remind San Diego County residents that trains can kill. Two people were killed Sunday night when they were hit by a train in Encinitas. The bodies of Juan Carlos Ortega, 24, and Sandra Spires, 45, were found dozens of feet south of the point of impact. A third person, Eliseo Zarate, 30, was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla with fractured ribs, a broken collarbone and numerous cuts. Zarate was believed to have been struck by one of the two people hit by the train. Jesus Garcia, district director of Caltrans, said his agency will meet with city and county officials to decide how best to update perceptions of railroad hazards.