A 19-year-old woman died yesterday (Sept. 27) after she was hit by a Caltrain in San Mateo, according to the coroner’s office.
The coroner’s office identified the victim as Mariana Reinoso-Barreto of San Mateo. The fatal accident occurred near the Villa Terrace at-grade crossing in San Mateo.
Only six days earlier, Caltrain officials celebrated the start of electric train service.
The coroner’s office hasn’t determined if the death was an accident or a suicide.
This was the 12th death on the Caltrain tracks this year. Between 1992 and 2009, Caltrain averaged 10 deaths a year, according to research by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University.
In May, Caltrain decided to stop reporting deaths that occur on the tracks in the hopes they would diminish. San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, whose office has the contract to provide police services for the Caltrain line from San Francisco to Gilroy, went along with Caltrain’s censorship decision even though other first-responder agencies, such as police and fire departments, have not.
The news blackout doesn’t appear to be reducing deaths, since this is the 12th fatality on the tracks in 2024, which is higher than the average for an entire year, and it’s only the ninth month of the year.
Passengers report train deaths on social media, and some news outlets, such as the Daily Post, confirm the deaths through other official sources such as fire departments and coroners.
Caltrain deaths in 2024
Jan. 18 — San Mateo near Hayward Park Station
Jan. 26 — Near Palo Alto’s California Avenue station
Feb. 20 — Girl, 16, of Palo Alto, at the E. Meadow Drive crossing
March 1 — Fair Oaks Avenue in Atherton
March 12 — Chestnut Street in Redwood City
April 7 — San Carlos, person killed by a test of electric train
April 12 — Man, 39, of Palo Alto, near California Avenue
May 10 — Body found on tracks in Palo Alto
Aug. 11 — Boy, 17, in Menlo Park
Aug. 21 — Man, 55, in Redwood City
Sept. 2 — Man, 62, in Redwood City
Sept. 20 — Man killed in Sunnyvale
Sept. 27 — Woman, 19, killed at Villa Terrace in San Mateo
This girl that died was my best friend and to see her die without telling her how much I cared about her is hard and for other people too that now her LLM️
I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s incredibly painful to lose someone you were close to, especially when you feel like there were things left unsaid. Please know that your best friend likely felt your love and care in the time you spent together, even if you didn’t get to say everything you wanted to. Take comfort in the memories you shared and lean on those who also knew her to help you through this. It’s okay to grieve and feel this pain—your love for her is real and lasting.
That crossing is feet away from the LifeMoves homeless shelter. So I wonder if she was one of the poor new immigrants to arrive in our town. Very sad.
Ah yes, because being near a homeless shelter or being an immigrant automatically explains everything, right? It’s almost like people from all walks of life could face hardships, but sure, let’s jump to conclusions based on proximity. Truly insightful smh immigrants or homeless we all human your no high or better. #BeKindWithYourWords
What a silly policy! People are going to commit suicide on the tracks regardless of whether Caltrain reports them. It’s one bad decision after another by Caltrain management. Like letting fare evaders ride for free. Time to merge Caltrain with a professional ly managed agency like BART and fire these stupid San Mateo Co. bureaucrats.
Right on dude, don’t let the death of someone who was beloved by family and friends stop you from screaming and throwing a tantrum about things you hate.
A Public Records Request showed that BART has about half as many deaths across nearly twice as many miles of track.
Unlike BART stations, Caltrain stations are completely open (no fare-gates) and unattended at ground-level and most also feature non-stopping express trains.
Whenever the billions are someday spent to fully grade-separate Caltrain, suicides will just all shift to occurring at nearby stations (as about half already do).
Bart runs underground, that is a big factor.
Sad that after all these years, CalTrain still hasn’t solved this problem. I guess they have higher priorities.
Caltrain thinks they’ve solved the problem by keeping the deaths secret.