Woman Killed After Caltrain Strikes Car in Palo Alto

A northbound Caltrain hit and killed a woman whose car became boxed in on the tracks as she was headed eastbound on Charleston Road about 5:00 p.m. Friday.

Her husband, who sat in the passenger seat of the Nissan Altima rental car, managed to escape the car before the train struck. 

The couple came from Indiana on vacation to visit relatives who live in Palo Alto, said Mark Simon, spokesperson for Caltrain. The couple was in their 60s, he said.

"They weren't able to get across the tracks," Simon said. She was driving eastbound towards Alma, Simon said. "Traffic got backed up and they got stuck," he said.

Train number 369, which hit and killed the woman, left Mountain View as an express train. All bells, horns and lights fully functioned at the time of the accident, Simon said.

"It's a cardinal rule—don't go on the tracks unless there's enough room for you to get across," he said.

Trains were stopped in both directions, and delayed 60 to 90 minutes. 

There were approximately 300-400 passengers aboard train #369. A bus bridge was set up by Caltrain and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to shuttle passengers between the California Avenue and San Antonio Caltrain stations. SamTrans is honoring Caltrain tickets.

—Bay City News contributed to this report.