ELWOOD — A 45-year-old Utah man who was trespassing in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail yard on South Elwood International Port Road had both of his legs severed when he jumped off one of the moving trains during the middle of the night, Elwood police chief Fred Hayes told Joliet Patch’s editor.
It took authorities about seven and a half hours to find the man’s legs, which were detached near his ankles, Hayes said. The legs were found around 10 a.m. on Wednesday. About seven hours earlier, Burlington Northern Santa Fe security discovered the badly injured man while monitoring the rail yard’s cameras.
“The first responders got there, and they learned he had crawled quite a distance. That’s what caused BSNF to call 911. He was spotted on their video and he was severely injured,” Hayes told Joliet Patch during Thursday’s interview.
Find out what's happening in Jolietwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Utah man crawled a considerable distance after jumping off the moving freight train during the middle of the night, according to Hayes.
“So they were able to locate the original location,” Hayes said.
Find out what's happening in Jolietwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Elwood police and firefighters saved the man’s life by wrapping him with tourniquets to stop the bleeding. He was rushed by ambulance to St. Joe’s hospital in Joliet, then flown to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood where he remains in serious but stable condition.
Click Here: new zealand blues jersey
“They believe he will survive,”Hayes said.
Hayes said the quick response by the police and fire crews saved the man’s life. Without their response, the freight hopper would have died after bleeding out.
Decades ago, people who sneaked on to freight trains rode them across the United States were called hobos. Joliet’s EJ&E Railroad Yard off Cass Street and Henderson Street was a familiar gathering place for hobos.
Nowadays, they are called freight hoppers, Hayes said.
“We do get freight hoppers that do come into the Elwood rail yard,” Hayes acknowledged. “Unfortunately, some people do these freight hopping endeavors, which are illegal by the way, and it’s very dangerous. There have been quite a few people who end up severely injured, and there have been quite a few cases of people being killed.”
Hayes estimated the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train traveling to Elwood was going 45 mph when the Utah man jumped from the train in the middle of the night.
His legs were immediately ripped off his body, and the bleeding man found himself in total darkness, in a town completely unfamiliar to him.
Hayes believes the freight hopper began his journey back in Utah. Whether Will County was his ultimate destination remains unknown, Hayes said. Because of the man’s medical condition, authorities have not been able to interview him yet.
After discovering and retrieving the man’s severed limbs at least seven hours after the badly man was discovered by BNSF security, Elwood authorities learned from the doctors that it would impossible to reattach the man’s limbs, according to Hayes.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.