Cops: Drunken man marks prison release with crash

[August 12, 2010]  HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) -- Police said a man who had been drinking alcohol to celebrate his release from prison crashed his bicycle into a railroad crossing gate in northwestern Indiana.

The engineer on a South Shore commuter line train saw the 49-year-old man ride into the crossing gate and fall from the bike Monday evening. The train stopped to check on the man who was on the ground next to the tracks in Hammond.

Police said the man was drunk and that he told officers he had been trying to beat the train but didn't know how he wound up on the ground. The man's brother told police that he had been drinking all day after his release from prison.

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Information from: The Times, http://nwitimes.com/

[Associated Press]

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