A 62-year-old man who was seriously injured Sunday morning appears to have been attempting to crawl under a stationary train when that train began moving and ran over his legs, according to a statement from Winfield Police.
At approximately 9:20 a.m. police and fire EMS were dispatched to the railroad tracks located in the 500 block of Main Street in Winfield for a report of a pedestrian being struck by a train.
Upon arrival emergency crews located a man with serious injuries to his lower extremities.
Immediate medical intervention measures were deployed on the individual and he was later transported to a Wichita area hospital for further treatment. So far, there has not been an update Monday on the status of the injured pedestrian.
Police Chief Robbie DeLong said the accident is still under investigation, but it is believed it was an accident and not an intentional act.
The train company involved is WATCO.
WORKERS AT NEARBY RESTAURANT RESPOND
Josh Pappan, a worker at the Shindig’s restaurant near the tracks in Winfield, was alerted by a coworker to the sounds of someone screaming.
Pappan exited the backdoor of the restaurant expecting to hear screams of anger but instead quickly realized they were screams of pain. A man was lying near the tracks and screaming for help.
“My legs, I have no legs,” the man said, according to Pappan, who discussed the incident with NewsCow late Sunday.
Pappan and a coworker, Elijah Sage, encountered a “horrific scene” as they approached the man. One leg appeared partially severed just below the knee and the other leg was badly damaged with a portion of a foot missing.
Pappan asked that someone call 911 as he and Sage took belts and started to apply tourniquets to the injured man.
“I was consoling him,’” Pappan said. “Telling him he will be OK. Just to breathe. And just did what I thought I had to til EMS got there.”
EMS soon arrived and a flurry of activity began as they began treating the man.