Kern County officials have identified the man killed after being struck by a train near Q and James streets in Bakersfield, California, as 30-year-old James William Almond Jr. The fatal collision happened on the night of April 20, 2026, when officers responded to reports of a pedestrian with severe injuries in the area of the railroad tracks. Emergency crews arrived and pronounced Almond dead at the scene. The Kern County Coroner’s Office did not release his identity publicly until September 18, 2026, nearly five months after the crash.
According to KBAK, Bakersfield police were called to the area just before 9 p.m. on April 20 after a report that a pedestrian had been hit by a train. The station reported that first responders found Almond severely injured and pronounced him dead at the scene. A separate report from The Bakersfield Californian confirmed the Kern County Coroner’s Office announced the identification on September 18, 2026, and put the time of the incident at 9:13 p.m. Neither outlet has reported whether the crossing was closed afterward or whether any investigation into the collision remains open.
