The man struck by a southbound train in Mountain View on Monday evening (July 22) has been identified as 30-year-old Jordan Koger, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s Office verified today. (July 24).
At 7:48 p.m., the SB284 train traveling toward the Castro Street Crossing hit Koger, who had trespassed near the junction, stopping all trains in the area, Caltrain officials said in a statement the evening of the incident.
Emergency personnel arrived on scene to examine the crime scene. The 118 passengers on SB284, none of whom reported injuries, were transported onto two other southbound trains, SB288 and SB190, according to Caltrain.
The track in the opposite direction was closed in the area for approximately 45 minutes; the track Koger was struck on was closed in the area for nearly two hours, according to tweets from the transportation agency.
Caltrain released an updated statement late Monday indicating that it was too early in the investigation – conducted by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Transit Bureau Police, the agency contracted by Samtrans and Caltrain to patrol their corridors – to answer certain questions about the incident.
“No matter what the circumstances, it is always regrettable when a life is lost,” officials wrote. “Caltrain reminds everyone to be safe around train tracks. Caltrain also would like to thank our passengers for their patience as we deal with these sad situations.”
The transportation agency declared Koger’s death the ninth fatality of the year on its tracks; the eighth fatality occurred approximately three hours earlier in Burlingame, where an individual was struck by a northbound train at the North Lane Crossing.
On Tuesday morning, the Medical Examiner’s Office was still confirming Koger’s identity. His city of residence is unknown.
Caltrain redirected all questions about the investigation to the lead department, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Transit Police Bureau. When contacted by the Town Crier, the sheriff’s office redirected questions to Caltrain’s public information officers since it is a “Caltrain matter.”
