A woman seen lying on the Caltrain tracks just north of the Atherton station Sunday night was struck and killed by southbound train No. 442, a Caltrain spokesperson reported.
The woman was identified by San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault as 63-year-old Zenith Freedman. Her city of residence was not available at The Almanac’s press time.
As the train engineer approached the station around 7 p.m., he thought he saw something on the tracks, but was unable to avoid the woman despite attempting an emergency stop, Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.
“The woman was lying on the tracks and the engineer couldn’t stop the train in time,” Ms. Dunn said.
The weight of the train, and the stopping distance required, made it impossible for the train to stop in time, she said.
Passengers were taken off the train and picked up by train No. 444. The northbound track opened around 7:40 p.m. and tracks in both directions were opened by around 9 p.m., Ms. Dunn said.
“We had another (train fatality) last weekend so it’s been rough,” Ms. Dunn said, referring to the death of 15-year-old Anthony Rea of San Mateo on April 19 at the San Bruno Caltrain station.
On April 7, a Menlo Park man, Stephen Lehane, 66, was killed by a train in Menlo Park. He reportedly stepped out of a grove of trees onto the train tracks between Encinal and Glenwood avenues in Menlo Park. The death was ruled a suicide by the coroner.
The death of Ms. Freedman is the seventh Caltrain-related fatality this year. The coroner’s office expects to make a ruling on whether the death was a suicide at the end of this week, Mr. Foucrault said.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report
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