Family mourns death of elderly Fil-Am pushed into BART train in SF

Corazon Dandan / Photo from Dr. Alvin Dandan

SAN FRANCISCO – The elderly Filipino American who was killed after she was pushed into the BART train in San Francisco on Monday was loved by many and is remembered as a “generous” aunt and a “sweet, kind, loving and caring” sister.

Corazon Dandan, 76, was standing on the platform at the Powell Street station when she was allegedly pushed into the path of a Millbrae-bound train around 11:06 p.m. on Monday.

The Daly City resident, who fell onto the platform and sustained severe head injuries, was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.

The suspect – 49-year-old Trevor Belmont, also known as Hoak Taing – has been charged with murder.

Her nephew Alvin Dandan, a doctor in St. Louis, said his Tita Cora rode the BART train every day to her job at a hotel in downtown San Francisco, where she had worked as a telephone operator for 40 years. She was returning home from work when she was attacked on the train platform.

“She would want to be remembered as a very beautiful, independent, hardworking American woman. Immigrant if you may – who is basically the life of the party and very kind and generous,” Dr. Dandan told ABC7.

Dr. Dandan said his aunt helped raise him and put him through medical school.

Dr. Alvin Dandan / CONTRIBUTED

“For sure she (was) beautiful. Sweet, kind, loving, caring,” Rene Dandan, Corazon’s brother, said. “She lived a really Christian way of life.

Dandan’s friends at work, who started a GoFundMe to help cover her burial expenses, described her as “a cherished and beloved member of our team whose unwavering kindness and dedication has been a pillar of our workplace for decades.”

“She touched so many hearts by simply answering the phone with kindness and going above and beyond to help others,” the GoFundMe page stated.

The Fil-Am mayor of Daly City, Juslyn C. Manalo, and Consul General Neil Ferrer reached out to Dandan’s family to extend their condolences and offer assistance.

“I can only imagine the tremendous pain and suffering family and friends are experiencing after such a loss,” said Manalo. “I know there are no words that can bring them comfort during this difficult time. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.