Two die during deadly evening for Caltrain

A pair of deadly collisions left two people dead in separate fatal Caltrain accidents Monday in Menlo Park and San Francisco.

A man was struck and killed by an out-of-service Caltrain heading south in a tunnel in San Francisco Monday night, a spokeswoman said. The collision occurred in Tunnel One shortly after 9 p.m., Caltrain spokeswoman Jayme Ackemann said.

In Menlo Park, train tracks in Menlo Park were cleared after a crash between a car and Caltrain that killed a 30-year-old woman, fire and Caltrain officials said.

All trains in both directions were halted after southbound Caltrain No. 360 hit the car at Ravenswood Avenue at 4:46 p.m. The female driver was stuck at the Ravenswood crossing where the car was hit, Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said. The car flew 40 feet across the intersection and the driver had to be extricated from the car that was found on a railroad crossing box and pole.

She was taken to Stanford Hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead a short time later, he said. A child safety seat was found in the car but was unoccupied, according to Schapelhouman. The car was “pretty much totaled,” he said. All trains were stopped in both directions until about 5:30 p.m. when a single track was opened through the area, Caltrain officials said.

Around 6 p.m., the northbound tracks reopened for all trains, according to Caltrain officials. Shortly before 7:30 p.m., the southbound tracks were cleared and trains were allowed to run through the area, Caltrain officials said. The involved train sustained substantial damage in the crash, according to Caltrain officials.

Preliminary reports indicated the railroad gate crossing was properly working at the time of the crash, Caltrain officials said. The Ravenswood Avenue crossing was closed to cars Monday night while crews repaired the gate and signal, according to Caltrain officials.

About 400 people on board the train were not injured, Caltrain officials said. The crash also impacted traffic on either side of the Ravenswood railroad crossing, according to Schapelhouman.

Jesse Garnier

Jesse Garnier is the editor and founder of SFBay. A Mission District native, he also teaches journalism as associate professor at San Francisco State University.