WARNING: THIS IS TRUE, AND NOT PLEASANT The Chief of the Cross Harbor RR PD is a retired Transit Police Captain and described the usual procedure for when someone gets run over by a train, and is still alive. He said when the train is jacked up........the pressure of being crushed forces all of one's insides out as the train is lifted off of them. "You give them a shot of morphine and a cigarette. When the train is lifted, their insides spill out and they are dead." This is nasty indeed, but maybe that quote should be taught at all Operation Lifesaver classes. I think it should be part of a subway campaign too. You cannot believe how people lean over the edge and walk within a inch death. And people push into crowded cars and end up being dragged on the outside until a steel column dislodges them. Not all grade crossing accidents kill people.
Johnny, As I remember how it happens, I think the Chief meant the insides are squirted out AS the pressure of the rail car squeezes down on the person. It is pretty grizzly because like you would step down on a tooth paste tube, the insides can extrude from either end, or both. The person can stay alive as long as pressure remains to allow blood to pump to the head, but if the pressure is removed, that is when the person dies, if not already gone by then. It is like when a brakeman slipped on an oiley tie and got caught between two couplers, and the coupling locked up on his waist just above his pelvis. He was alive only as long as the couplers remained locked, according to the doctor. Most of his insides had squirted down onto the ballast, so a tarp was wrapped around the couplers and draped to the ground so people wouldn't see the blood and mess. He knew he was not going to live, so they brought his wife and kids to say goodbye, and let them talk awhile. We moved all the sightseers away about a hundred feet, so the family could have some privacy. The pressure of the locked couplers kept his blood from gushing out, and while in temporary shock, he wasn't hurting. The doctor explained that as soon as the pressure was released, the blood would rush out of his head, and he would die in a minute or so, but maybe as long as 4 to 5 minutes at most. When he began to "feel it", he told the doctor he was ready. The doctor gave him a shot to put him to sleep, then the lift was made to unlock the coupler, and the engine eased forward. His legs and hips dropped onto the gauge, and some one caught the upper part of his body, and he was assembled onto a body bag and carried away. The tarps were later burned. No one had the neart to use them anyway. The fireman washed down both couplers and the ballast as usual, then everyone went home except the engine crew. Another brakeman re-made the couple to the car, and it was pulled away and sent on its way. He was an employee. For a Passenger...... Should we post a photo of a person that was caught between a subway car, and the station entrance landing? It wont identify who they were, or if it was a man or something else. It is gory enough that you wont stand close to the edge anymore though!
I think that on one of the "faces of death" videos (not for the faint of heart or stomach) there is a segment of a man caught between the platform and the car. They kept him there long enough that a priest could get to the scene and the man's wife so they could say their goodbyes. After which, they place hydraulic jacks (clamps) and move the car sideways. You know what happens next - see Johnny's post above. Seeing that though really gave me a respect for the yellow lines painted on the platform! Russ
Yeech! Watash, I remember watching from my bedroom window as the firemen hosed down the street after some man was massed by an 18 wheeler on 72nd and Broadway, right to the left side of the new station they are building. The station is in the Times article I sent so you will know where I mean. I've seen many a body bag come out of that station too. I remember one Sat morning standing on the platform when I heard a thud. I turned to see two guys jump down onto the tracks and pick up this druken bum and they rolled him back onto the platform. About 2 minures later the local came in and the guys got on and went their way. Lucky for the drunk that they were there!!!!!!! There is a slight curve coming into the station and the motorman never would have been able to stop in time.
Russ, I think that is probably the one I have a photo of. Thanks for the article Johnny, I have a more clear idea of where that station is now. I went down one of the stations close to Times Square when I was in New York for the Johnny Carson show. I looked around and watched the trains a bit, then came back up to civilization! With all the pushing and shoving, it is a wonder more people are not pushed off the edge!
living in philly for most of my life and riding the el(subway)i've seen a few my self someboby jumping in front the train or being pushed a lot of sickos in the city
I was bumming around the states after getting out of the ARMY in early '72 (you can figure where I had been) and was I in a subway station in Brooklyn. I was with a army buddy, we were both trying to get back into the real world at that time. As we were standing on the platform waiting to catch a subway car, this fruitcake next to us tries to push a lady off the platform onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. My buddy grabbed the lady and I grabbed the fruitcake. About 10 to 20 people saw this happen and not one person did a thing, didn't want to get involved I guess! The fruitcake made a BIG MISTAKE and took a couple of punches at me. I kicked his a** and then held him for the cops. When the cops got there, the lady tried to have my buddy arrested for assult, and the fruitcake wanted to press charges against me! As luck would have it, one man told the cops what had really happened. The police told us to get lost, they would take care of things. We wasted no time finding the exit! The lady, after being told by the witness what had really happened, never even said "Thank You" I was not in the New York City area for much longer after that episode. MARK
That is an amazing story, Mark. You save someone's life and they turn on you. Do you think it was a domestic dispute? Anyway, you guys did the right thing!
Sorry to hear that you experienced one of the bad sides of New York Mark. In fairness though, I have been in a lot of small town America where the same thing happens. If ever you get back to NYC, me and Johnny will show you what is good about it! (Of course , I would need some time to think just what exactly that is! LOL!) Happy Railroading! Russ
ok i'lll bite weres the good side of new york no I've seen the good and the bad in new york too being a trucker go thru there all the time i hate that G W bridge and the nuts that jump off it too but thats for another post and not to mention the drivers up there truckers and the four wheelers rich
I used to drive a van over the GWB twice a day from the Upper Westside to Bergenfield, NJ and then out to Glen Rock once in the morning, sometimes twice, six days a week. The GWB is a grand old bridge but can be one's worst nightmare at the same time. If you were going into the Cross Bronx Expressway, forgitaboutit! When the Yankees play an afternoon game at home, it's MURDERER'S ROW on the bridge, and leading to the Deegan (to Yankee Stadium) and Cross Bronx. I once drove over the upper level and saw a PAPD cop jump out of his car on the other side and vault the rail onto the pathway. He looked down over the edge. A little while later on News Radio 88 they said a woman jumped off the bridge.
