Train kills woman lying on pedestrian crossing

A woman in her 30s was killed after she laid down in front of a train in San Bruno yesterday afternoon — delaying midday trains 40 minutes.

At approximately 1:22 p.m. Monday, an Asian woman laid down on a pedestrian rail crossing as a northbound train approached the San Bruno Train Station, said Lt. David Triolo of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Transit Police Bureau.

"As soon as the train approached, she stepped into the gauge and laid herself down,” Triolo said.

The woman was knocked approximately 10 feet from the where she was hit on the walkway, which is elevated to meet the top of the train tracks.

Caltrain 147 was slowing to stop at the station. Triolo estimates it was traveling approximately 25 mph when it struck the woman. The exact speed will be available through an analysis of an onboard data recorder. The data recorder acts much like a black box on aircraft, Triolo said.

The woman’s identity is being withheld by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office until the next of kin is notified.

This is the ninth fatality on Caltrain tracks this year. Of this year’s accidents, five were determined suicides, one was unintended and the results on three, including the one that occurred today, are pending, said Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn.

Passengers on the train were transferred to another train about 2 p.m. and the southbound track was opened about 1:45 p.m., which allowed trains to move slowly through the area in both directions.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.