(The following appeared on the Daily Nonpareil website on September 12.)
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — A 52-year-old man lost both of his legs in a railroad accident Wednesday night.
Council Bluffs police officers were dispatched to 16th Avenue and Main Street for an injured person on Iowa Interstate Railroad property at 10:20 p.m. Authorities have not released the man’s name.
Rick Benson, EMT coordinator for Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue, said the man was an employee of Iowa Interstate Railroad and was riding on the back of a train, when it suddenly bucked and ejected him from the train.
Benson estimated the man was run over by at least two railcars. Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue transported him to Creighton University Medical Center with life threatening injuries.
Benson said the man was immediately taken to surgery and both legs were amputated, one at mid-thigh and the other at the hip. Benson said the man remained in the intensive care unit this morning. An updated condition report was unavailable.
Council Bluffs police said the incident is still under investigation.