Embarcadero station opens after BART fatality — delays remain

Major delays were reported on BART on Monday. (File photo). Major delays were reported on BART on Monday. (File photo). Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Embarcadero station opens after BART fatality — delays remain 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

BART’s Embarcadero station reopened Monday evening after it was closed for nearly four hours when a person was struck and killed by a train.

Just before 1:30 p.m., BART police received reports that a person may have jumped in front of a train at the station. Fire crews and police responded to the scene, said Jim Allison, a BART spokesman.

A BART police dispatcher confirmed that the person had died. Trains were single-tracking through the station, Allison said.

The station reopened around 5:15 p.m., but delays of up to 20 minutes were expected for trains headed toward San Francisco International Airport, Millbrae, Daly City and the East Bay, officials said.

Around 4 p.m., Susan Rippberger, 65, who was accompanied by Tibu, her 4-year old pooch, said she’d been stuck at the Powell Street station in downtown San Francisco.

“With my little pup here I don't want to sit here for an hour,” she said. “I came here to meet a friend just for lunch. Then I find out I'm here for the day.”

She finally hopped on a Pittsburg train toward her home in Concord.

In April, officials launched a suicide prevention campaign after a rise in suicides and attempted suicides on BART tracks. Signs went up at stations throughout the Bay Area saying “suicide is not the route” and included a number for the National Suicide Lifeline.

Anyone contemplating suicide can reach out to any number of organizations such as the National Institute of Mental Health or the Bay Area Suicide & Crisis Intervention Alliance.

Earlier in the day, police chased a suspect into a tunnel near the Lake Merritt station in Oakland, causing major delays. The suspect ran from police who were responding to a fight on a BART train, officials said. The suspect, who was not identified, was captured around 12:30 p.m., authorities said.

Evan Sernoffsky, Kale Williams and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, kwilliams@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky @sfkale @JennaJourno