Woman dragged trying to re-board Amtrak train in Sacramento

The Sacramento Bee
By Darrell Smith
May 7, 2011
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dvsmith@sacbee.com

An Amtrak passenger was taken to a Sacramento hospital this afternoon after she was briefly dragged by a train and injured when she tried to re-board the train as it pulled away from the downtown station at I Street, officials said.

The incident happened about 3:15 p.m. when an unidentified woman aboard the Emeryville-bound California Zephyr briefly left her car.

The woman grabbed for the car's guard rail when the train began to depart, but she was unable to climb back into the car in time and was dragged alongside the car, official said.

The woman was dragged about 50 yards, including over a pedestrian crossing, said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong.

"She was pretty lucky," Leong said. She wasn't where the wheel was."

The extent of the woman's injuries was not known. But Leong said the injuries were not life threatening.

Amtrak officials, Sacramento and Union Pacific police responded to the scene. Rail traffic was shut down for about an hour as officials investigated the accident. Service resumed about 4:30 p.m., said Amtrak spokeswoman Danelle Hunter.

Hunter said passengers need to be aware of their train's departure times. The train's conductor sounds a loud horn blast before departing to alert passengers, she said.


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