Video has surfaced of a man who was nearly killed when he ran across the tracks at the Caltrain station in Redwood City.
Just seconds before the speeding two-story, one-million-pound train passed, the barriers were down and sirens were blaring when a group of commuters decided to run across the tracks in front of an express train traveling through the station.
Moments later, a man followed the group and barely made it across just a few feet in front of the train.
Caltrain said trains can reach a top speed of 79 mph, covering the length of a football field in less than 3 seconds.
The agency said it is releasing the video shot by a bystander to urge riders to never go around gates and to expect a train at any time on a track.
The man in the video has not been identified.
Three people have been struck and killed by Caltrain this year. The most recent death happened on Sunday in Atherton.
Caltrain is just one transit agency seeing this problem. On March 3, 14-year-old Jenna Betti was killed on the train tracks in Martinez. Police believe she was trying to retrieve her cell phone and could not escape the draft of a freight train.
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And in January, another teen, Danika Garcia, was killed while crossing the VTA tracks across from her high school.
In San Jose, not far from where a 2-year-old boy was killed by a train on Monterey Highway, a young mother gave one reason people might cross the tracks in front of an approaching train. They sometimes cross illegally to avoid walking a longer distance to the pedestrian overpass.
"I usually cross it when I’m running late," San Jose resident Mayra Garcia said. "I cross it to get across quicker, but when I’m with my baby, I tend to wait."
People who cross the tracks when the arms are down could be slapped with a $271 fine--if they live to pay it.
