An elderly Manteca woman standing in the middle of the train tracks between Union Road and Louise Avenue before sunrise Wednesday when she was struck and killed by a Union Pacific freight train.

The incident occurred at 5:29 a.m. and resulted in the closure of several railroad crossings for a number of hours.

Manteca Police Sgt. Steve Beermann urged anyone who sees someone standing on the tracks — or children playing on them — to immediately call dispatch at 9-1-1.

Police dispatch will call Union Pacific’s own dispatchers to have trains stop from going through Manteca while police respond to investigate.

That has resulted in saving several lives over the years including one where an officer was able to push an individual off the tracks with just a few seconds to spare.

Manteca averages two pedestrian versus train deaths a year.

The last train accident in Manteca was on March 27 when a train struck an unoccupied vehicle on the Woodward Avenue crossing.

Prior to that in December, a UP train slammed into a wheelchair on the Yosemite Avenue crossing in downtown Manteca after an individual had to abandon it when a wheel got caught in the tracks. No one was inured

The last death railroad death in Manteca was in April 2025 when, a homeless woman was struck and killed by a train near the 120 Bypass overcrossing of Moffat Boulevard.

Four days after the fatality, a homeless man and his dog were walking along the Union Pacific tracks between Yosemite Avenue and Center Street when the dog went onto the tracks and his leash got stuck on a railroad tie.

The man tried to free the dog but both were struck by the train.

The dog did not survive.

The 53-year-old homeless resident of Manteca survived, but he had a severe injury to his left arm.

Police advise the public to remember that trains coming through town cannot stop in a reasonable distance to avoid hitting persons or animals on the track.

The train that struck the dog took almost a mile to come to a complete stop.

Police said it is important to stay off the tracks unless crossing at an approved crossing when the arms are up, and no trains are approaching.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com