Boy in hospital after trying to jump on to train

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Not something I would do as a stunt when I was grwoing up!

Boy in hospital after trying to jump on to train#### Last Updated: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 | 3:58 PM MT From CBC News

A nine-year-old boy is in hospital after trying to hop on to a moving freight train in Calgary.

The incident happened just after noon Wednesday in Forest Lawn, near Hubalta Road SE, according to Calgary’s Emergency Medical Services.

Peter Alphonse, also nine, told CBC News he asked his friend not to try the stunt and ran home to call 911 when his advice was ignored. He said children are constantly trying to hop trains and use a hole in a fence to get close to the Canadian National Railway tracks.

Christine Vanderweed, property manager for some townhouses near the tracks, said she has called police about the problem, but no one has responded.

She said she hopes the incident will prompt the owner of the fence to finally repair it.

Paramedics provided advanced life support at the scene before taking the boy to Alberta Children’s Hospital with serious leg injuries. His condition isn’t considered life-threatening, according to EMS.

2

  1. Maybe I’m too “Old School”…but what is a 9 Year Old kid doing standing (or running) next to an active railroad line…next to a moving freight train??? Who allowed him to get that close?

  2. Where was mommy or daddy?

  3. Is the owner of the fence the railroad, municipality, or private property owner?

I wonder now if mommy plans on getting an attorney to go after the “big bad railroad” for causing so much pain to the little darling…

Let’s see if it had been me, my Mom would have : A. Blistered my bottom B. Made me apologize to my Dad, the police and railroad officials. C. I"d then get chewed out by my uncles and aunts D. I’d be grounded for one month.

Of course today the pc crowd would cry foul.

3

What an idiot. Not listening to his friend’s advice is just plain wrong.

What would he do if he got onto the train? How would he get off?

Guess he didn’t consider this when he got his legs destroyed.

4

E. All of the above.

F. All of the above, plus having to stand in the corner until bedtime.

G. All of the above, plus having to write, “I will not play near the tracks, nor seek holes through fences to the tracks,” 500 times.

5

[bow] [(-D] [swg] [wow]

Sounds like you knew my parents, I got caught squeeling the tires on the car, and the county sheriff told me he would talk to my Dad, that would do more than a judge. He also knew my Dad [sigh] [:)]

6

Did you never slip away from your parents as a kid? I can remember using my new baby sister to get away when I was 4. As soon as she cried and my mom went to check on her, I was down the street and around the corner to go see the big trucks on the local highway.

As for this kid and the foolish acts with no supervision…well, that’s how natural selection usually occurs. He got lucky and lived to learn a life lesson. Some people are born with common sense, some get taught, and some earn common sense with experience, but many people never have common sense and we only have ourselves as a species to blame for it.

7

His name is Charles, but his friends call him “Stubby”.

8

[(-D] Not exactly PC… But…[(-D]

9

I have seen a lot of the “train hopping” videos on the viral sites, such as You Tube and Break. I wonder if some of these kids in that area are doing it just to have a video to post on such sites.

10

So, to fan the flames a bit more, here is the response from the mother: “…I would like to see the railroads removed and I don’t care how much it would cost the government…”

Yup, blame the railway, not poor parenting. [banghead]

Life of boy who tried to hop train ‘changed forever:’ mother
Boy, 9, has foot amputated
Last Updated: Friday, August 17, 2007 | 2:45 PM MT
CBC News

A child hurt while trying to jump a train had his foot amputated Thursday night, the same day Calgary workers repaired the fence he used to access the tracks.

“This has caused a little boy’s life to be changed forever,” Sabina Piche, mother of nine-year-old Josh, said from the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

Her son, who is mentally challenged, tried to hop onto a moving freight train Wednesday in Dover, near Hubalta Road SE.

People in the neighbourhood said children are constantly trying to hop trains, and both adults and children use a hole in a fence to cross the CN Rail tracks.

While the fence was repaired Thursday, city worker Ted Gillman said he expected that by Friday morning, someone will have cut the wires.

One child told CBC News she crosses the tracks every day to go visit her cousin. She said it’s a shortcut children use to get to school to shave time off their walk.
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CN Rail says there is a proper crossing 500 metres away and anyone caught trespassing could be fined.

Piche said access to the tracks should be permanently blocked or, better yet, the tracks should be moved out of the residential neighbourhood.

"It’s not fair for those who are minorities and have no say. So as a mother, I speak up. I would like to see the railroads removed and I don’t care how much it would cost the government to do that. When you lose a life, you can

11

Very poor taste, man. Do you have kids?

12

Oh, brother. Here we go.

First, this sound bite proves the mother doesn’t think her “mentally challenged” child’s whereabouts and supervision are her responsibility.

Second, she doesn’t hesitate to play the “us poor, neglected, ignored minorities” sympathy card right away.

Then, as frosting, she blames the government for “allowing” a railroad in a residential neighborhood.

So…

  1. The railroad was there long before she decided to move into that neighborhood.

  2. She failed miserably in her responsibility as a mother for not monitoring a “special” child’s activities, but refuses to consider any of the blame is hers.

  3. If she thinks minorities have no say, she oughta come to Chicago and see the almost -daily protest marches from every race, creed, color and sexual orientation. If the didn’t produce occasional results in implementing change, they wouldn’t march.

  4. Based on her comments and lack of pre-emptive action, her son may not be the only “mentally challenged” person in that household.

13

Quick, fire-hose Poppa Zit. He’s red hot!!! [:D]

All I could think of while reading the past four or five posts, since about two days ago when I last dropped in here, was that the mother would launch legal action because the railway didn’t have someone running alongside the trains in town waving kids away from the rolling stock…both sides of the train, natch. The made in Canada solution would be that, since Olympic (trade mark registered, in case VANOC is reading here) athletes will have to agree to do a year’s service this way after their careers are over, or until they get busted for doping, which ever comes first.

We need an “I’m a cynic” smilie. [xx(]

14

[quote user=“Poppa_Zit”]

Oh, brother. Here we go.

First, this sound bite proves the mother doesn’t think her “mentally challenged” child’s whereabouts and supervision are her responsibility.

Second, she doesn’t hesitate to play the “us poor, neglected, ignored minorities” sympathy card right away.

Then, as frosting, she blames the government for “allowing” a railroad in a residential neighborhood.

So…

  1. The railroad was there long before she decided to move into that neighborhood.

  2. She failed miserably in her responsibility as a mother for not monitoring a “special” child’s activities, but refuses to consider any of the blame is hers.

  3. If she thinks minorities have no say, she oughta come to Chicago and see the almost -daily protest marches from every race, creed, color and sexual orientation. If the didn’t produce occasional results in implementing change, they wouldn’t march.

  4. Based on her comments and lack of pre-emptive action, her son may not be the only “mentally challenged” person in that household.

15

Yep, I have four children . . . they don’t play around trains, though. Taught 'em a bit better than that.

16

Good. Maybe DCFS oughta look into this case and find that poor child a different home.

17

She wants the railroad removed? Next will be roads!!! When your unsupervised mentally child goes to some tracks, tries to hop a moving train, and gets hurt, its the railroads fault? The railroad is doing a job it has done for 200 years, moving freight and good from one place to another. Now say her unsupervised child went out onto a road and gets hit by a truck (18 wheeler) did you think she would plead for the banning of big rigs? Banning of cars? Back to walking,were you can get a scraped knee or cracked head? Parents need to think a little more clearly in these situations, they have this happen and they go into “offensive mode” and want to do everything they can to stop things that caused it. 9 times out of 10, them tracks were there long before that neighbor good was even built, and 9 times out of 10, if that kid was supervised and not allowed to go with a friend anywhere he wants to (at 9 years old? in 2007? maybe 1950, but not 07!) and gets hurt like this. It is the parents’ fault no buts’ or ands’ about it. KEEP YOUR KIDS SUPERVISED, ESPECIALLY IN A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD (better off, dont move there!) AROUND ROADS, AND THE SAME GOES FOR RAILROADS. Railroads can be one of the safest transportation systems in the world, but who makes it dangerous? People who 1. Try to beat a train at a crossing. 2. Play chicken. 3. Act stupid and try to run in front of a trains. 4. Ect.

18

The railroad is only the first step in her safety plan. The next removal steps are:

Roads, powerlines and other wires, bike paths, any sort of wood, anything sharp, bullies, anyone that has ever been sick, any open water, bad weather, …

19

[(-D][(-D][(-D]

20

It reads as though his family was so angry all the time that he attempted hopping the train to get away from them.

Andrew