(The following column by Phil Luciano appeared on the Peoria Journal Star website on August 21.)
PEORIA, Ill. — Good thing Harold Otto wore a belt Saturday night.
Without it, he might not have survived getting hit by the train that sliced off half a leg early Sunday. And had Otto chosen his wardrobe otherwise, his family likely wouldn’t be looking to thank a quick-thinking railroad employee who used that belt to save Otto’s life.
“He deserves a medal for saving my son’s life,” says Otto’s mother, Sharon Otto of Peoria.
Harold Otto, 43, of 817 N. Kickapoo Creek Road got a ride Saturday to the Peoria riverfront for the Grand Nationals motorcycle festivities. After spending most of the night drinking there, he got a ride to the Brass Rail, a roadhouse at Kickapoo Creek and Farmington roads about a mile from his home.
After that, his memory gets hazy. About 1 a.m., he started walking home. Usually, he walks along Kickapoo Creek Road, but for some reason decided to walk along train tracks nearby that run parallel to the road.
Not far from home, but winded and intoxicated, he needed a break. Unfortunately, he didn’t move far off the tracks.
“He sat down to rest,” says his wife, Vickie Otto. ” … Evidently he fell asleep.”
As he did so, his right leg flopped across the train tracks. In a way, his family sees that as a stroke of luck.
“Thank God he fell that way … and not the other way, with his head on the tracks,” his mother says.
About 1:40 a.m., a 75-car Union Pacific Railroad train rumbled toward Otto. The engineer saw a body partially on the tracks, so he sounded the train’s horn several times.
There was no response. Otto can’t recall hearing a horn or even lying on the tracks.
The train crew hit the emergency brakes, but the 22-mph train couldn’t stop in time. Fifteen cars tore past Otto before the train could stop.
As the conductor called 911, the engineer’s supervisor ran back toward Otto, whose right leg had been severed below the knew. To slow the gusher of blood, the supervisor pulled off Otto’s belt and tied it around the stump.
At this point, Otto regained consciousness.
“It hurt like hell,” Otto says.
But he stayed calm, thanks to soothing words from the supervisor: “Help’s on the way.”
Minutes later, sheriff’s deputies arrived to help put pressure on the makeshift tourniquet. Soon, an ambulance came to whisk Otto to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
He is expected to remain there for several more days. Between resting and treatment, he did not want to talk much Monday. But he and his family want to thank the railroad supervisor who saved his life.
His wife says, “If it hadn’t been for him, (Otto) would’ve bled to death.”
Not much information about the supervisor was listed on the police report. But after a little digging around, I found his name: Gary Woo, who apparently doesn’t live in central Illinois. But I could not find out anything more about Woo, who did not return my call. Further, the railroad would say nothing.
Otto and his wife of 21 years have two adult children and live alone. When he gets home, he’ll have to learn to get around without half of his right leg. The disability might give him trouble as he tries to return to his job pumping out septic tanks.
“He’s pretty good on crutches, and he’s a strong man,” his wife says. “I know he’s gonna give it a heck of a try.”