San Bruno B.A.R.T.

  A Redwood City teen's family is struggling this week to make sense of his death, apparently caused by a passing train.

  A quiet boy who liked to play video games, Jose Luis Flores, 17, was killed near a crossing in the area of Whipple Avenue at about 7:20 p.m. Monday, according to San Mateo County Coroner's Office officials.

  "This is something that is very hard for the whole family," Jose's 22-year-old sister, Christian Pinon, said Wednesday. "We have no idea what he was doing on the train tracks. We want to think it was an accident. We don't want to think he committed suicide."

  Officials said it is unclear whether Jose's death was an accident or a suicide.

  The death is the first on Caltrain tracks this year, Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said. In 2007, there were eight deaths on the tracks -- six suicides and two accidents.

  Pinon said that she, Jose and her other two brothers Ignacio, 20, and Gilberto, 18, were very close.

  Jose frequently wrote to Ignacio, who is serving with the U.S. Marines in Iraq, she said.

  Ignacio is on his way back for the funeral and should be home today, Pinon said. She declined to say what funeral arrangements have been made.

  Jose, who had a history of mental illness, was reported missing in late July, when he disappeared for about three days after becoming distraught over Ignacio's deployment earlier that month. Jose had also run away at least once previously, turning up later at Moffett Field in Mountain View and telling authorities he'd been looking for Ignacio.

  Pinon said Jose attended Achievekids school in Palo Alto.

  Achievekids is a special education institution for children and young adults ages 5 to 22, said Tulin Melton, the school's development director. There are mental health experts on staff who can help the students cope with Jose's death, Melton added.

  "Clearly, staff and students are very saddened by his loss, and he will be missed," she said.

  Jose's family last saw him at 6:20 p.m. on the day he was killed.

  It wasn't until about 8:15 p.m. that an engineer spotted Jose's remains, after two or three trains had passed through the area, Weinberg said. Train traffic was stopped in both directions until about 10:30 p.m.

  "It took two hours to investigate. Whenever there is a death on the tracks, it automatically becomes a crime scene," the spokesman said.

E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.