Caltrain hits, kills person on tracks in Santa Clara

A person died Monday morning after being struck by a Caltrain train, the train operator told passengers.

This reporter was on the 507 express line that departed San Jose Diridon station at 7:22 a.m. when a person on the tracks was hit between the Santa Clara and Lawrence stations.

Announcements by Caltrain employees over the intercom around 8 a.m. informed riders that an emergency had occurred outside the train, medical services were on the way, and that the train would remain stopped until conductors were given the all-clear by authorities. 

Riders were not permitted to exit the train while the situation was unfolding.

A Caltrain staff member told riders in a later announcement that the emergency was a "trespasser strike" that caused the death of the person hit. 

The train was stopped for about two hours as emergency personnel processed the scene. The train operator later announced that the train would alter its express service and stop at all stations. 

The 507 arrived at the San Francisco Caltrain station around 10:45 a.m., over two hours past its scheduled 8:22 a.m. arrival time.

There was no immediate information as of Monday afternoon concerning the circumstances of the strike or the identity of the victim. CBS News Bay Area has reached out to Caltrain for an official statement. 

It was the second collision between a train and a person on the tracks in the Bay Area on Monday. A person on the BART tracks at the Walnut Creek station on Monday morning escaped major injury after getting hit by a train, authorities said.