Palo Alto School Mourns Teen Killed on Track
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | Updated 12:30 PM PDT
A Caltrain struck and killed a Gunn High School student Tuesday.
The end of the school year at Gunn High School in Palo Alto will be a sad one as students are forced to deal with the death of a student killed on a train track near school.
The unnamed student was hit by a Northbound train Tuesday morning at the East Meadow Drive crossing around 8:30 a.m.
The lights and warning bells were activated as the train approached the crossing, Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.
School officials sent out messages on Tuesday to students and parents telling them of the death, but not saying who had died.
"As you welcome your children home this evening and tell them you love them, I encourage you to talk with them about the importance of letting caring adults in their lives know if they are having problems," Principal Noreen Likins said.
The message from the seems to indicate it may have been a suicide.
But nothing has been determined. "It could have been inattention," Dunn said.
Grief counselors are on hand today to help students cope with the loss.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner's office is expected to release the teen's name this afternoon.
The death was the second fatality on Caltrain tracks in as many days. A female pedestrian was struck and killed by a southbound train Monday morning, just north of the San Antonio station in Mountain View.
Copyright Bay City News
