Police: Teen loses legs as she tries to hop train

[September 06, 2011]  LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) -- A 17-year-old Colorado State University student lost both her legs when she tried to hop aboard a freight train and slipped underneath the moving train on Monday, police said.

One of three males with the student was briefly dragged by the train but suffered only minor injuries. The accident occurred in the northern Colorado town of Longmont shortly after 1 p.m. when the group tried to board the northbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe train, police said.

Train speed limits through Longmont are 25 mph. It wasn't known exactly how fast the train was going at the time of the accident.

The student was taken to Longmont United Hospital by ambulance and then flown to Denver Health Medical Center. Denver Health officials said they couldn't release any information about her, but Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said he believed she was conscious and able to talk.

Longmont is about 30 miles north of Denver and about 30 miles south of Fort Collins, where the university is located. All four lived in Fort Collins and it's possible they caught a train south and were trying to return home when the accident took place, Satur said.

No names have been released, but Satur said the three males were between 17 and 20 years old. The female victim's parents live in another state, which Satur didn't identify.

The male who was dragged by the train was cited for trespassing, as was another one of the males, Satur said. A third male made it aboard the train and his whereabouts were unknown.

Satur said he didn't know if the female would be cited.

"She's got enough issues to worry about," he said.

[Associated Press]

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