Man, 82, hit by train but is alive

Battalion Chief Tom Calvert signals the train operator to slightly move the locomotive to help free a trapped 70-year-old man under the train as other Menlo Park firefighters work to extricate him and save his life. Photo courtesy of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.

By the Daily Post staff

Firefighters extricated a 70-year-old man who was hit by a Caltrain at Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park this afternoon (June 12) and dragged under the locomotive, fire officials said.

The man somehow survived and was rushed to Stanford Hospital.

Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman described it as a “very difficult extrication.” Air bags were used to lift the train off the man.

It wasn’t immediately known whether the man intentionally stood in front of the train or was hit by accident.

An initial report from the fire district said the man was 70. Police later said he was 82.

2 Comments

  1. Another reason to put the train in a tunnel is that accidents like this won’t happen anymore. On average 15 people die on the Caltrain tracks per year. Granted many are suicides. But it will be much harder to commit suicide if the train and its stations are underground.

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