A 22-year-old Spanish basketball player was killed Monday evening, December 15, 2025, after being struck by a high-speed passenger train at a rural station near Zaragoza in northern Spain.
Nicolas Ramirez Perez, who played for CB Octavus de Utebo, had just gotten off a train at Casetas station, about 10 miles from Zaragoza, when an Alvia train on the Bilbao-to-Barcelona line struck him as he crossed the tracks. The train was carrying 101 passengers and was not scheduled to stop at that station. The incident happened around 8 p.m. local time.
Medical workers treated Perez at the scene and rushed him in critical condition to Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza, where he died shortly after arrival. Spain’s Guardia Civil has opened an investigation. Perez was on his way to team practice when he was hit, according to club secretary Enrique Peiro.
Perez was born in Pamplona on April 2, 2003, and grew up mainly in the town of Etxauri in the Navarre region. His parents came from Alfaro in La Rioja but had settled in Etxauri more than 20 years ago. Perez had a younger sister. The family no longer lives in Etxauri and had recently sold their home just weeks before his death.
Perez moved away from Navarre to study architecture at the University of Zaragoza. Before that, he played for Club Deportivo Navarro Villoslada and competed with the lower levels of the Navarre basketball team. At the time of his death, Perez was playing forward for CB Octavus de Utebo in the Primera Nacional A-2 league and wore jersey number 66. He had been with the club for about five years.
His club announced right after his death that all league games scheduled for the coming weekend would be called off, along with most Tuesday training sessions. The club said the suspensions came as a sign of mourning and extended its support and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nico, as he was known. The statement ended with the words, “A big hug.”
A club spokesman posted an emotional message on Instagram, writing: “Life is sometimes so unfair that it is impossible to understand why things happen. We are shocked, saddened, and angry at fate. It wasn’t your time… We will miss you, N. You will always be part of this club.”
The regional Aragon Basketball Federation also expressed its grief, sending condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Perez following his death. The federation noted that he had spent five years playing for his club and wished everyone strength during this difficult time.
Jose Luis Almenara, president of the Casetas neighborhood association, spoke about the shock felt throughout the community. He said he found out about the incident around 10 p.m. after seeing ambulances and hearing sirens in the area. Almenara explained that the station has a crossing with rubber mats to help people avoid stepping directly on the tracks, but travelers have to walk back several meters from where their train stops to reach that crossing point.
A local mayor said the station’s safety needed improvement, calling the official crossing “poorly illuminated.” The call for better safety measures comes as investigators work to piece together exactly what happened that evening.
After the collision, the 101 passengers on the Alvia train were moved to a freight train and taken to Delicias station in Zaragoza. The Guardia Civil’s police unit in Casetas is handling the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding Perez’s death.
