KLIV is reporting that a VTA Light Rail train struck and killed a pedestrian last night on the First Street line. Jennie Hwang Loft, VTA’s public information officer, confirmed that a fatality occurred between the Civic Center and Japantown/Ayer stops, but would not confirm that a pedestrian was hit.
“At 9:30pm, a male pedestrian, approximately 50 years old, walked toward a Light Rail vehicle on First Street,” she said. “Police, Fire and emergency crews responded immediately.”
When asked if the train hit the man, Loft would only say “We’re investigating the situation.”
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How sad. My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.
Good thing we have this above ground to avoid hitting endangered moles.
#3-Hugh, you are absolutely right. Thank you for pointing that out. I cannot imagine the pain the driver must be going through. This is very sad indeed. My thoughts and prayers go out to the driver too.
#4-Nam Turk,
You make an excellent point. It would make sense to put public transit underground like New York does, but we wouldn’t want to do anything that makes sense right?
Kathleen, don’t forget the train operator. Due to the mass, it takes a train much longer to stop than it takes a car. So even if the train operator put the brakes into emergency as soon as the person on the tracks is spotted, it’s usually too late. But still you have to watch the train hit the person, all while knowing you can’ do a thing. It’s sad.