Buckingham Avenue near the railroad tracks in Redwood City.
REDWOOD CITY — A male driver was killed early Tuesday morning after his car crashed through a fence, stopped on a railroad track and was hit by a Caltrain, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office identified the driver as Pierre-Alexandre C. Meloty-Kapella, 29, of Redwood City.
At 1:21 a.m., a blue Volkswagen sedan on Buckingham Avenue crashed through a fence and onto the tracks, possibly landing on the driver’s side, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A maintenance train traveling to San Francisco crashed into the disabled VW and dragged it about a half-mile, according to CHP Officer Art Montiel.
Montiel said there were no skid marks or other indication that Meloty-Kapella tried to stop before his vehicle went through the fence.
Meloty-Kapella’s LinkedIn profile identifies him as a social media strategist based in San Jose and a 2010 graduate of Williams College, in Massachusetts. The summer before his last year at Williams, he had a legislative fellowship in the U.S. House of Representatives, the profile says.
As a Palo Alto High School student, he was a standout sprinter and soccer player.