Beloved California Aunt Killed by Homeless Man Pushing Her into Moving Train
A beloved California aunt, known for helping several nieces and nephews attend college, died Monday after being pushed into a moving train by a homeless man, according to police and reports.
The 74-year-old woman, Corazon Dandan, was on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) platform at the Powell Street Station in San Francisco when the suspect, Trevor Belmont, allegedly shoved her into an oncoming train just after 11 p.m., BART police said.
Dandan, of San Mateo County, struck her head on the train and fell onto the platform. She was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where she later died, transit authorities reported.
Corazon Dandan was returning home from her job as a telephone operator at the Parc 55 hotel when she was killed, her nephew Alvin Dandan told The San Francisco Standard. Despite warnings from her family about taking BART late at night, she rode it daily. Alvin, a doctor in St. Louis, shared that his aunt, who was divorced and childless, continued working past retirement age because she loved being around younger people.
“She just loved working and being around younger people,” Alvin told the local news publication.
Corazon was instrumental in supporting her family, helping Alvin through medical school and assisting several of her cousins with their education. “Great does not even define what I think this woman is,” Alvin said. “I wouldn’t be here and a lot of my cousins wouldn’t be here. … She put a lot of people through school.”
Originally from the Philippines, Corazon moved to San Francisco in the 1980s as a single, independent woman. Alvin had texted his aunt earlier on the day she was killed, describing her as "chipper."
BART officers arrested Belmont, 49, shortly after the fatal shove. Belmont, who is also known as Hoak Taing, is transient, according to police. He was booked into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of murder and inflicting injury on an elder likely to cause great bodily harm. Investigators are still determining a motive for the crime and are continuing to interview witnesses and review surveillance footage.
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