Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST BOUNTIFUL — An apparently intoxicated man was hit by a Union Pacific train Thursday morning.
The accident happened a little after 6 a.m. near 400 North and 640 West in West Bountiful under an overpass. The man, 20-year-old Brayden Johnson of Bountiful, was conscious and talking with emergency personnel before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
"It appears he was clipped more than actually hit full on," said West Bountiful Police Chief Todd Hixson.
Still, detectives believe the Johnson ended up 600 feet down the track from the point of impact. The train was travelling 28 miles per hour, officials said.
"We can't tell if he was dragged yet, or he was hit and moved down," Hixson said. "...It was a slow moving train, for other reasons not involved with this, they were at a slower speed."
About an hour before the accident, Hixson said his office received a report of a man in a Halloween costume staggering down the middle of the street. Officers were not able to find that man, but believe Johnson was that same man.
"It appears from the description so far, it is the same individual. We do believe alcohol is involved," he said. " It has not been determined why Johnson was on the tracks."
Railroad safety advocates say incidents like this are on the rise as more people, both nationwide and in Utah, trespass on railroad tracks. Last year, reports Vern Keeslar with Operation Lifesaver, five people were killed on Utah tracks and more than 400 were killed nationally.
Keelar urges people to use common sense.
"You wouldn't walk down the middle of I-15; Why are you walking down the middle of the railroad tracks?" he said. "It's private property, railroad property. So stay off, stay away, and stay alive.
The accident briefly affected FrontRunner service. Utah Transit Authority officials set up a bus bridge between their Farmington and Woods Cross stops. Just before 7 a.m., UTA announced on Twitter that the accident had been cleared and regular FrontRunner service resumed immediately.
Contributing: Andrew Adams
