Ride BART enough and you’ll notice “major medical emergencies” attributed to some delays. More often than not, collisions are related to suicide — tragedies that may be better prevented in the coming years.

All but 10 of 82 collisions on BART trackways from November 2009 to August 2019 have been related to suicide, according to data obtained by SF Weekly. Forty-eight people died by suicide, including four in 2019 through August.

“If you’ve ever ridden BART, you might begin to notice when someone may have died by suicide,” says Narges Zohoury Dillon, executive director of Crisis Support Services of Alameda County. “Some people feel their pain is invisible. As they’re dealing with their pain or thoughts of suicide, someone approaching them could make a difference for them.”

In 2015, BART partnered with suicide prevention experts through the Bay Area Suicide and Crisis Intervention Alliance (BASCIA), made up of local mental health professionals and agencies now led by Zohoury Dillon, to place signs advertising the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s 1-800-273-TALK(8255) number.