A suspect was arrested Monday night after an elderly woman was seriously injured after he pushed her into an oncoming BART train in San Francisco, the transit agency said.
The incident happened around 11:06 p.m. at the Powell Street station, where the 74-year-old woman was pushed onto a Millbrae-bound train that was arriving at the station. The woman hit her head on the train and fell to the platform, BART said.
She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she later died of her injuries. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified her as Corazon Dandan of San Mateo County.
BART Police arrested 49-year-old Trevor Belmont on the Powell Street station platform shortly after the incident. Belmont, also known as Hoak Taing, was described by police as a homeless person. Since 2013, police records show Belmont has been involved in nearly two dozen criminal cases in San Francisco.
Police officers reviewed surveillance footage of the incident and were still trying to determine the motive for the alleged attack.
Dandan’s cousin, Alvin Dandan, told CBS News Bay Area that she was a telephone operator at several hotels, primarily the Westin St. Francis. He also said that she no longer had to work to meet her financial needs, but that she continued to work because she loved her job.
He said Dandan originally worked for Westin in the Philippines and then decided to move to the United States to work for Westin in San Francisco.
He also said that she preferred working the night shift because she was a “night owl” and usually went to bed very late.
According to her cousin, Dandan regularly took the BART from Daly City to Powell Street.
“We told her it’s dangerous at BART stations,” he said.[The family] told her to stop commuting.”
Robert Waite, who lived near Dandan, said his neighbor was friendly, kind and kept to herself.
“She was very friendly. I talked to her all the time. She came to the house a lot,” he said. “She was a very nice woman. She gave vegetables… [There’s now] so much violence in the world. Nobody cares about anybody. And it’s kind of sad how the world is now.”
BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin called the killing “rare.”
“This is the first murder [on BART] of the year, and I want to emphasize that this is an extremely rare incident. I can’t recall another incident where someone was pushed onto a train in this manner,” Franklin said. “We are working hard to make BART the safest way to travel in the Bay Area.”
BART riders CBS News Bay Area spoke to said more police officers are needed at BART stations and trains.
Chief Franklin said his department has 24 openings for police officers and four openings for dispatchers. He also said the department is actively hiring more officers.
Kevin Ko contributed to this story.
