| UTU member loses foot in accident |
|---|
| SUPERIOR, Wisc. - A Superior man whose foot was amputated when he slipped under train wheels Saturday (Jan. 3) in the Union Pacific rail yard in Itasca remains in serious condition at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Duluth, the Telegram reports. Jeffrey P. Ayotte, 54, a railroad employee, had been involved in switching cars at the rail yard when the accident occurred shortly after noon Saturday, according to Superior Police Capt. Matt Markon. (Ayotte is a member of Local 1293, Altoona, Wisc.) Ayotte was one of four men building a train with the rail cars rolling free after being given a push from a locomotive, according to a Superior police report. Two of the men heard something unintelligible from Ayotte over their portable radios. When they went to investigate, they saw that his left foot had been run over by a train. Officer Gerald Beauchamp noted there were drag marks for about 10 feet to the north from where it appeared Ayotte originally slipped under the train wheels. “It appears the train rolled about that far before coming to a stop, taking Ayotte with it,” he wrote in the report. Kim Kaiser, spokeswoman for SMDC, said Ayotte was listed in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth Monday. (This item appeared in the Superior Telegram Jan. 6, 2009) From UTU Site |
A tragic story, to say the least. My thoughts are with him and his family.
Read it in our paper.
Ive been there many times. Flat switching can be very dangerous and my prayers are with him.
A tragic accident to be sure…I hope the railroad will do their best to find alternate duties for the gentleman as the accident happened while he was in the process of discharging his duties for their company and I (personally) would like to think a Class I railroad would be able to place him in an alternate assignment of some sort so he can continue to support his family while continuing to contribute to the success of the railroad.
I strongly agree. I think he’ll get a sizable disability check from UP though as well. If there’s something else he would be able to do with the railroad, I think he should be entitled to choose that job.
This is tragic indeed. I don’t know the name, but I may very well have seen him around here without knowing it. And that especially makes me sad to hear this. My thoughts are with him and I wish him the best of luck in getting a new job.