From San Mateo Daily Journal
Woman struck, killed by train in rush hour
By Dana Yates
A woman was struck and killed after walking in front of a train in Burlingame Friday evening.
Authorities were called to the downtown Burlingame train station at approximately 6 p.m. on reports of a woman down on the tracks. The woman was struck near the grade crossing at North Lane by an express train that was not scheduled to stop at the station.
"We're taking every precaution to figure out what happened," said Sgt. Roger Copeland of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, which patrols the Caltrain line.
"There are some witness statements that she went around the active crossing arms," Copeland said.
The woman's identity was not available by press time Friday. However, at least one woman on scene told police she was the woman's neighbor. The woman said the dead woman was deaf and mute and that she was trying to help her.
The woman was reportedly on Burlingame High School campus earlier in the day with a piece of paper that stated she was a 1967 graduate of the school. She was carrying with her items from Oregon. It's unclear if she was living in Burlingame, was trying to return to Oregon or was a transient.
Trains were stopped in either direction between the San Francisco and Hayward Park stations. By approximately 7:30 p.m., the southbound track was reopened for slow traffic. Part of the delay was because the conductor had to be replaced because he was too distraught to drive, an engineer on scene said.
The incident occurred just one hour before a Burlingame High School football game was scheduled just one block from the Burlingame train station.
The Burlingame train station was upgraded this year with wider platforms and new crossing equipment.
E-mail Dana Yates at dana@smdailyjournal.com. |
