BART investigates death at station

BART police and officials with Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail are investigating the death of a woman found near the passenger pickup area at Dublin/Pleasanton Station early Saturday.

Paramedics were treating the unresponsive 26-year-old woman, who had a prominent bump on her head, when BART officials responded to the scene around 5:30 a.m., Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for the transit agency, said in a statement. The woman, who was identified only as a recently released inmate from Santa Rita Jail, died at the scene. Officials said there were no obvious signs of foul play.

Jail officials are pulling surveillance footage to determine if the woman had a head injury when she was released, according to a BART media statement.

The woman was released from jail around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, BART officials confirmed.

The woman was released before dawn because jail officials can’t keep inmates even one minute past their release time, which is calculated by several factors, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, an Alameda County sheriff ’s spokesman.

Most released inmates are provided a bus pass, some take taxis and others get picked up by family or friends, he said. In this case, Kelly said he believes the woman walked to the BART station and waited for a train.

On Saturdays, the first northbound train departs the station at 6:48 a.m., and the first southbound train leaves at 6:03 a.m., according to the BART website.

“We are still trying to fill in that four-hour gap, with regards to the timeline,” Kelly said. “We’re trying to go back into her custody time and see if there were any suspicious altercations where she may have been injured that may have led up to her dying at the BART station.”

Kelly could not immediately confirm the conditions of her release, such as whether she was released on bail or after serving time for an offense.

“Our understanding is that there were no obvious signs that some type of serious crime occurred, so the autopsy will definitely be important in determining what happened,” Kelly said.

An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of the woman’s death is scheduled for Monday, officials said.

The death investigation did not affect BART service, officials said.

Lauren Hernández is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren. hernandez@sfchronicle. com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor