Teen loses legs trying to hop train

[pezar]

Sad story:

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/05/3886426/police-teen-loses-legs-as-she.html

A group of Colorado State students were playing hobo, and tried to hop a train. The 17 year old girl bounced off, and fell underneath, and got her legs amputated. Ouch. I know we have young people here who talk about hopping trains, PLEASE do so while the train is stopped, ok? This is not the first case of Idiot Versus Wild, with Wild the undisputed winner.

[solovoyager]

That is horrendously sad. I've never been interested in hopping freight trains but always wondered how it was done. Get on the train while it was 'parked' or as it began to move? This young girl - will always have to live with the youthful decision she made. I wonder if she and her friends were inspired in any way by "Into The Wild" as I didn't see any mention of it in the article?

[pezar]

http://www.timescall.com/ci_18860914

Apparently she was hitchhiking around the front range of the Rockies with a few friends, and wound up in a place called Longmont. The posse decided to jump a train back to Fort Collins. The first guy got on, the second bounced off but was ok. She wound up with her legs under the train. The story says she was called "Rush" by her teachers in HS because she was so enthusiastic about learning. So far, none of the articles have mentioned ITW, but it's standard reading in many high schools. She is about to discover just how unfriendly the world can be to somebody in a wheelchair. Ramps are few and far between. Access is problematic. She has her whole life ahead of her, and now she will spend it in a chair.