BART Passengers and Train Operator Work Together to Save a Life

The combination of an alert train operator and quick-thinking BART passengers helped save the life of a person in crisis who went onto the trackway at the Civic Center Station in San Francisco during the August 21 afternoon commute. At about 4:43 pm a man entered the trackway from one of the station platforms. That drew an immediate response from several people on the platform at Civic Center Station. While some riders helped the man out of the trackway, others immediately jumped into action and began waving to alert the operator of the oncoming train. Surveillance footage show a sea of arms in the air along the entire length of the platform and riders coming together during a moment of crisis. The train operator saw the riders waving their arms and hit the emergency stop button. The train came to a stop one car into Civic Center Station, several car lengths from where the man was in the trackway. Power was cut in the area and BART police responded to the scene within minutes. Officers detained the person in crisis and made sure he got the support services he needed. BART wants to thank its riders for responding quickly and taking proactive steps to make sure the person on the tracks survived.