SEATAC, Wash. — Two college students from Washington state attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, were severely injured in a high-speed train crash in Spain Oct. 28, 2026. The same collision killed 69 people.
The crash occurred when a communication system failure led train controllers to give a green light to a train while another train was stopped on the tracks.
The two students, Leah Silver-Fajardo and Austin Hartman, survived with extensive injuries and remain hospitalized in Spain, as their families travel overseas to support their recoveries.
Silver-Fajardo, a junior from Seattle, was studying abroad in Florence, Italy, before traveling to Spain.
Silver-Fajardo had just celebrated her 21st birthday and decided to take a day trip to Seville with her friend, Austin Hartman, according to a GoFundMe page.
Her aunt, Rachel Chernin, explained the initial confusion after the crash.
“I mean, they called in the middle of the night, and the embassy called my sister, and she missed the phone call,” Chernin said. “We did not hear from her or know where she was for five or six hours.”
Silver-Fajardo’s study abroad peers searched hospitals near the crash site to find her. Chernin noted the efforts of “some very young people, you know, 20, 21 years old, just jumping into mode of being young adults and trying to find their friend.”
Silver-Fajardo suffered a broken knee, broken pelvis, multiple broken ribs, bruised lungs, scrapes, and burns, according to GoFundMe.
“As Leah’s Tita Rachel, I’m reaching out on behalf of our family to ask for your support to help Leah navigate the unimaginable physical and emotional challenges ahead,” Chernin said in the bio listed on the site. “We are profoundly grateful that Leah is still with us. Now, we want to help her reclaim the future that was so suddenly interrupted.”
Hartman, a 2024 graduate of Bellingham High School, is a junior at Cal Poly studying abroad in Spain, according to a GoFundMe launched on behalf of him.
His stepmother spoke to KIRO 7 and said that his mother has already traveled to Spain to assist with his care.
Hartman sustained severe traumatic injuries, including multiple fractures to his pelvis, hip, femur, humerus, ribs, and lumbar vertebrae, alongside facial lacerations and orthopedic injuries.
In a statement from GoFundMe, Hartman’s family described the sudden turn of events.
“Austin went from enthusiastically and joyfully living a dream abroad to being confined to a hospital bed and facing an extensive recovery,” the GoFundMe page reads.
KIRO 7 confirmed that two GoFundMe campaigns have been established for both students to assist their families with medical treatment, travel, and living expenses in Spain and long-term rehabilitation.
Chernin expressed gratitude for the widespread response to the situation for the students and the fundraising efforts.
“And the amount of love and support we have received from not just around this country, I have received messages from people in Spain that saw this and it’s been incredible,” Chernin said. “It is really the best part of humanity.”
Hartman is not expected to return to the United States for at least two months while he undergoes multiple surgeries in Spain.
Silver-Fajardo also has a long recovery ahead. It could be several months before they can even be considered as able to return to the U.S.