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A young man who stepped in front of a commuter train near West Meadow Drive in Palo Alto late Friday night has been identified as Brian Bennion Taylor, 19, a 2008 graduate of Gunn High School.
Taylor was a member of the varsity wrestling there, as well as tennis teams, and was active in student affairs.
He was identified by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office, which has not officially ruled his death a suicide.
Taylor was hit by a southbound train at 11:45 p.m. Friday about 150 yards north of the Meadow Drive crossing, where four other young persons have died since last May, three of them Gunn students and one an incoming Gunn student.
According to news reports, postings on Facebook and online forums, Taylor was the eldest of nine brothers and sisters and had been active in youth leadership within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He had attended Brigham Young University last year, but dropped out, according to an e-mail his mother, Marian, sent to the San Jose Mercury News.
The Mercury reported that she said she believes Brian committed suicide, and that he had been suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the reason for his leaving Brigham Young.
“We are so sad at the passing of our son but we are grateful for our faith in a loving God and we treasure every moment of the almost 20 years we had with him,” the mother was quoted as saying in the e-mail.
“His acute illness affected every aspect of his life,” she said.
Taylor was an active student at Gunn, where he was named homecoming prince in his senior year. He was the service chair for student body, and received a presidential service award for performing 250 community-service hours in a year, his mother said in the e-mail.
By Palo Alto Online
By Palo Alto Online
By Palo Alto Online
My heart goes out to the family and the community; a death such as this does not occur in a vacuumn annd affects us all. This young man sounds like such an outstanding person. If anything cries out for an openess and acceptance by society of mental illness, this suicide certainly does.
If children read this please take heart when I tell you this isn’t the way to end your hurt or problems.If you feel so depressed this sounds like an option please talk to a friend or parent, or call 1-800-273-8255. There are people here that will understand what you’re going through.
Having lost our oldest child in 2001 to suicide, Sister Smith and I have a great empathy for what the Taylor family is now facing. Our beautiful and brilliant daughter also struggled with bi-polar issues in the last few years of her adult life. We found great solace in the insights found in D&C 138:58-59. Love, The Smiths