Elderly Filipina dies after man pushes her into incoming train
An elderly Filipino-American woman residing in San Francisco, California suffered a grim fate when she was pushed into an oncoming train by a fellow passenger, causing her immediate death.
According to a news release from the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), 74-year-old Corazon Dandan was pushed towards a Millbrae-bound train approaching Powell Street Station by the 49-year-old suspect identified as Trevor Belmont.
The incident happened at around 11 p.m. on Monday, July 1.
Dandan had hit her head on the train and fell on the platform. While she was taken to the San Francisco General Hospital for treatment, her injuries proved too severe and she was pronounced dead.
Her nephew Alvin told CBS News Bay Area that Dandan had been working as a telephone operator at multiple hotels and had preferred working the night shifts because she was "a night owl."
He shared that he had warned her against taking the BART as a way of transportation, saying, "We told her it's dangerous to BART stations. [The family] told her to stop doing the commute."
BART stated that they have now put Belmont, who they described as a transient, behind bars and will be booked into San Francisco County Jail. CBS News detailed that Belmont has been involved in nearly two dozen criminal cases in San Francisco, based on police records dating back to 2013.
While the suspect has been apprehended, BART noted that the incident is still "an active investigation."
"BART Police Department is interviewing witnesses and processing evidence. The investigation includes the review of surveillance video. Investigators are still working to determine a motive for this incident," they stated.
Despite the crime that took place, Police Chief Kevin Franklin stressed that such incidents are "rare."
"This is the first homicide [on BART] of the year, and I just want to stress this is an extremely rare incident. I can't recall another incident where somebody was pushed into a train like this. We're working very hard to make BART the safest way to travel around the Bay Area," he said.