Family of woman who died after being pushed into BART train in San Francisco sues transit agency
The family of a woman who died after being pushed into a BART train in San Francisco is suing the agency, alleging BART is responsible for allowing crime at its stations and trains.
On July 1, 2024, 74-year-old Corazon Dandan was taking BART to her Daly City home from her job of 30 years at a San Francisco Union Square hotel when a man pushed her into an oncoming train at the Powell Street Station.
Dandan hit her head on the train and fell on the platform, BART police said. She later died of her injuries at a hospital.
The Dandan family and their attorneys held a news conference at the Powell Street Station to announce the lawsuit.
"What's wrong with BART? Passengers are not safe. The whole purpose of BART is for transportation, and the riders are not safe," said Nanci Nishimura, who is representing the family.
Police arrested 49-year-old Trevor Belmont on the station platform shortly after the incident. Belmont, also known as Hoak Taing and described by police as a transient, has been involved in nearly two dozen criminal cases in San Francisco since 2013, police records show.
Lawyers for the Dandan family said in a press statement Wednesday that Belmont had been banned from the BART system for repeatedly jumping fare gates.
The lawsuit alleges that BART has repeatedly failed to make its stations safe through increased safety staffing or physical security features and called on the transit agency "to take responsibility for its negligence, address all of the failures set forth herein that led to Corazon's death and improve safety for all riders."
The complaint also lists a history of violent deaths and assaults on the BART system and includes data showing that riders, particularly Asian American Pacific Islanders, do not feel safe riding BART. It also includes a letter to the Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking him to deploying California Highway Patrol officers on the BART system to prevent other violent acts.
BART has not yet responded Wednesday morning to a CBS News Bay Area inquiry about its reaction to the lawsuit.
Belmont was charged with one count of murder and inflicting great bodily injury on a vulnerable person. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said Belmont also allegedly intentionally killed the woman while lying in wait. San Francisco police have not identified a motive for the alleged attack.
Dandan's nephew, Alvin Dandan, told CBS News Bay Area she was a telephone operator at multiple hotels, primarily the Westin St. Francis. He also said she didn't need to work anymore, but kept working because she loved her job.
He also said she preferred working the night shifts because she was "a night owl" and would regularly take the BART from Daly City to the Powell Street station.
"We told her it's dangerous to BART stations," he said. "[The family] told her to stop doing the commute."
Kara St. Cyr contributed reporting.
