A 74-year-old Filipina woman died when a man shoved her in front of an oncoming Bay Area Rapid Transit Train in San Francisco Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Corazon Dandan, 74, from Daly City, was taking the same commute home she had taken for more than 40 years until tragedy struck at approximately 11:06 p.m. on July 1.
KPIX reported that Trevor Belmont, 49, allegedly pushed Dandan to her death at Powell Street Station. Belmont, who is homeless, has been involved in nearly 24 criminal incidents since 2013.
BART Police detained Belmont and charged him with murder and elder abuse, according to San Francisco Chronicle. PhilSTAR Live wrote that the investigation is still underway.
“We’re working very hard to make BART the safest way to travel around the Bay Area. We’ve increased the presence of our uniformed personnel out and about in the system,” BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin told KPIX. “I can’t recall another incident where somebody was pushed into a train like this.”
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Other BART riders indicated to KPIX that they hope to see an increase in law enforcement presence at BART stations, but Franklin noted that the department is understaffed.
Some commenters under the video are calling for stricter policy around jail and prison sentencing, given Belmont’s previous criminal history.
Dandan was commuting home from her job as a phone operator for Westin St. Francis, a nearby hotel, San Francisco Chronicle wrote. She continued to work despite her family urging her to retire.
Similar incidents have inspired concern around the community, particularly pertaining to race-related criminal acts of bias and hate.
Another San Francisco Chronicle article from February found that members of the AAPI community were increasingly concerned for their safety, despite hate crime statistics decreasing from 2021.
Tetet Naval, a Filipina American, told San Francisco Chronicle that she was struck and scolded to “go back to (her) country” while waiting for public transport in June 2023.
Anti-Asian hate crimes made up approximately one fourth of all hate crime reports in 2023, with about half of the incidents being committed by the same person.
Dandan’s family requested privacy as they grieve the loss, according to GMA News Online.
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Thank you for reporting on this incident. Please keep us updated as details develop.
Hoak Taing is the suspect’s AKA.
You are implying this crime is related to Asian hate.
Instead of exploiting this issue as one of racism why don’t we focus and acknowledge that the main problem is how criminals like the killer in this case was still roaming around our streets despite having committed multiple crimes in the past. Our legal system must be too lax or the penalty must be too light that it allows these type of criminals to be back on the street again and again.