Commerce City teen hurt in tangle with moving train
Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News
Published May 9, 2007 at midnight
John Pounds is known among his friends for taking risks around trains.
On Tuesday, the 17-year-old Adams City High School junior tried to slip between two slow-moving train cars, but his backpack got caught before he could make it safely through.
Commerce City police Detective Mike Saunders said the teen's right leg was struck by the train, which was moving between 10 mph and 18 mph.
"It got his right leg pretty bad," he said.
Pounds reportedly was running late for school when the incident happened at about 7 a.m. on a Union Pacific Railroad track at East 69th Avenue and Elm Street, near Fairfax Park.
Saunders said the teen was transported to Children's Hospital. His condition was not known Tuesday evening.
Chilton Jones, 18, has known Pounds for more than a year.
"He's funny," Jones said. "He'll do crazy things . . . (but) he's a good kid."
Jones said he and another friend hoped to be able to visit Pounds at the hospital .
John Albright, public information officer for Adams County School District 14, said some students cross the train tracks as a shortcut to the high school.
"There seems to be a trend with students with getting involved with trains," he said.
He said the tracks and U.S. 85 traffic are just two of the hazards students face as they walk to school.
School officials and the Colorado Department of Transportation have met in the recent years to discuss student safety.
"It's a bit concerning for us," Albright said.
This is the second time in recent years that a student at the high school has been injured by a train.
Albright said in the earlier incident a student lost a limb after his backpack also became tangled in a moving train. The student was able to free himself and call for help, Albright said.
James Barnes, a Union Pacific spokesman, called the incident "very unfortunate" and said it stresses the need for pedestrians to "obey all warnings."
"We're saddened but thankful that the person was not more injured," Barnes said.
He said the 105-car train involved was transporting coal from Nebraska to Colorado.
Albright said counseling was available for students and staff affected by Tuesday's incident.
He said a new school at East 72nd Avenue and Quebec Street that will replace the current Adams City High School building was planned with student safety issues in mind.
Rail-pedestrian accidents
Nationwide Killed Injured In Colorado Killed Injured
2006 526 732 7 13
2005 463 694 3 11
2004 475 657 2 14
2003 501 624 5 3
2002 540 608 4 1Sources: Federal Railroad Administration, Office Of Safety Analysis
ramirezr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5067
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