Update, Monday, 11:30 a.m. BART police confirmed that the man who was released from under a BART train Sunday had attempted to commit suicide.
“It was an intentional act,” said Lt. Randy Gregson. “He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and there were no injuries.”
When the 65-year-old man jumped, he lay down in the center of the track, where there’s a cutaway, avoiding harm when the train came, Gregson said.
Gregson said he was unaware of the man’s current location or condition.
Update, Sunday, 1 p.m. A 65-year-old man who was underneath a BART train at the North Berkeley station Sunday has been taken to the hospital, authorities said.
“He only got minor injuries,” said BART Police Lt. Paul Kwon.
The Berkeley Police and Fire departments responded to the incident as well.
There is no indication of foul play, and initial reports from witnesses indicate the man jumped in front of the Richmond-bound train late Sunday morning, Kwon said.
“We anticipate the station will reopen soon,” he said. (BART tweeted at 1:06 .p.m that the station had been reopened.)
Original story, Sunday, 12:31 p.m. Police are responding to reports of a person underneath a BART train at the North Berkeley station, authorities said Sunday.
“We got word of a person possibly underneath the train on the trackway” from a BART employee at 11:46 a.m., said BART Police Lt. Paul Kwon.
As of 12:10 p.m. police and medical personnel were at the scene.
“So far from what we gather, the person is still alive, but that could change,” Kwon said. “We’re still working on a rescue.”
Trains were not stopping at the station as of press time.
Berkeleyside received a tip from a reader, Lisa Lum, who was at the station when the incident occurred, and said passengers on the platform began shouting that a man had jumped in front of a moving Richmond-bound train. Berkeleyside has not been able to confirm this with police.
“The BART driver put the alarm on and we all didn’t know why at first,” Lum said. “He left his cane on the [platform]…I hope he’s OK.”
Kwon said police are still gathering information about the circumstances. Berkeleyside will continue to update this story.
NBRK stn is closed and trains are not stopping at NBRK due to a major medical emergency.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) August 12, 2018
