Dana Yates/Daily Journal Caltrain commuters look out the window at the scene of a suicide yesterday near the Hayward Park train station in San Mateo.

Police and paramedics responded to an area just south of the Hayward Park train station at approximately 5:45 p.m. after receiving a report that a southbound train struck a person. Train service experienced long-term delays during rush hour as both tracks were closed until 6:30 p.m. when only track was opened. Trains were permitted to run slowly through the area, Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said.

"The initial investigation indicates it is a probable suicide,” Weinberg said.

The man was reportedly partying with his girlfriend and two other people near the train tracks. It appears alcohol was involved and the man decided to lay down on the tracks right before the train arrived, said San Mateo Battalion Chief John Warren.

A chaplain was called to the scene, presumably to speak with the man’s girlfriend who was "shaken up,” Warren said.

Passengers of the packed northbound train that was delayed for at least 25 minutes while investigators surveyed the scene rolled again at approximately 6:20 p.m. with passengers angling for a window view of the yellow tarps. The remains of the man’s body and his belongings were strewn along the track for a couple of hundred yards south, approaching 25th Avenue.

The man’s identity was not released as of press time last night. However, police were collecting the contents of his wallet at the scene.

Approximately 100 children who participate in the San Mateo Police Activities League’s Junior Giants program missed their train in downtown San Mateo and were forced to reschedule their trip to AT&T park, one parent reported.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.