{"id":93090,"date":"2019-07-02T15:46:03","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T15:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hit-by-a-train-not-just-an-expression-in-durango\/"},"modified":"2019-07-02T15:46:03","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T15:46:03","slug":"hit-by-a-train-not-just-an-expression-in-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hit-by-a-train-not-just-an-expression-in-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hit by a train\u2019 not just an expression in Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The engineer and fireman keep close eyes on the track last week as a Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train makes its way through downtown Durango. A man, believed to be heavily intoxicated, was hit by the train last week, causing serious injuries.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad lures people from all over the world to Southwest Colorado. Its rustic character complements its wild route through the San Juan Mountains. Its whistle echoes as the train meanders through the Animas Valley.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s easy to forget what the D&SNG really is: A multi-ton steam engine that pulls heavy cars, including one filled with coal, and dozens of passengers. It crosses several busy intersections and parallels high-trafficked areas in Durango where pedestrians, bicyclists, river users and automobiles coexist.<\/p>\n

If one\u2019s not careful, it can be dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u2018Grease on his bare chest\u2019<\/div>\n

Collisions involving the train are rare, but not unheard of: Maybe someone parks too close to the tracks and the locomotive clips the car while passing; maybe a driver tries to beat the train through an intersection and gets hit; or maybe someone stands or loiters too close to the track and is hit as the train goes by.<\/p>\n

\"The
The engineer and fireman keep close eyes on the track Friday as a Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train makes its way through downtown Durango. A man, believed to be heavily intoxicated, was hit by the train last week, causing serious injuries.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

That\u2019s what happened last week when two men, both believed to be intoxicated, lay down next to the tracks.<\/p>\n

Apparently, the rumbling locomotive and its piercing whistle were not enough to rouse the two men from their alcohol-induced slumber before the engineer had to pull the brakes.<\/p>\n

One of the men, Max Benally, 46, didn\u2019t move fast enough and was struck by the train about 5:30 p.m. June 24 near 30th and 31st streets.<\/p>\n

Benally suffered serious injuries and was flown to St. Anthony Hospital in Denver, where he remained in \u201cfair\u201d condition in the intensive care unit Monday afternoon, according to hospital staff. The staff has had trouble reaching friends or family of Benally; anyone with ties is asked to call the hospital at (720) 321-7101.<\/p>\n

A Durango Police Department report says Benally had cuts and abrasions on his head and appeared to have \u201ca large smear of grease on his bare chest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I approached, I could detect the strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from his breath,\u201d the officer wrote in his report.<\/p>\n

The officer who wrote the report also contacted Vicente Martinez, 57, laying in the grass about 7 feet from the westernmost train rail. Martinez smelled of alcohol and could not sit up, stand or walk, police wrote. He was taken to Detox.<\/p>\n

\"The
The engineer and fireman keep close eyes on the track Friday as a Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train makes its way through downtown Durango. A man, believed to be heavily intoxicated, was hit by the train last week, causing serious injuries.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

D&SNG Manager John Harper told police he wanted to press charges against both men for trespassing, according to the report. Train tracks are private property, except at approved crossings.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Durango Herald<\/em>, Harper said: \u201cThe railroad tracks and railroad right of way are private property, and anytime you\u2019re on it, it\u2019s trespassing. Anytime there\u2019s an issue or incident on railroad property, trespassing will be charged.\u201d<\/p>\n

A preliminary breath test showed Martinez had what appeared to be a 0.28 blood-alcohol level, more than three times the legal driving limit, police wrote in the report.<\/p>\n

No formal charges or arresting documents had been filed against Benally or Martinez as of late last week in La Plata County Combined Courts.<\/p>\n

\u2018A mechanical beast\u2019<\/div>\n

The D&SNG may seem quaint and harmless, but Benally\u2019s injury, despite his apparent intoxication, is a reminder the train is \u201ca mechanical beast that you\u2019ve got to respect,\u201d said Mike McCoy, state coordinator for Operation Life Saver Colorado, a state division of the national rail safety nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\"The
The engineer and fireman keep close eyes on the track Friday as a Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train makes its way through downtown Durango. A man, believed to be heavily intoxicated, was hit by the train last week, causing serious injuries.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIf you see tracks, think train,\u201d McCoy said. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t run across an airplane that\u2019s landing. It just can\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 15-car Union Pacific historic steam train en route from Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming to Denver hit and killed Kelly Yarish, 56,<\/a> about a year ago in Henderson. She\u2019d gotten too close to the tracks while taking photos of the 1944-model engine near a rail crossing, The Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n

Harper said D&SNG\u2019s \u201cbiggest issue\u201d is photographers shooting near or on the tracks. People sometimes walk onto train bridges, something Harper said \u201cis illegal and very dangerous.\u201d D&SNG\u2019s chief of safety could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

A D&SNG engine hit the rear-end of a Hyundai sedan<\/a> in September when the driver tried to beat the train across the tracks at 32nd Street. The train was traveling about 12 mph at the time, but the impact was great enough to spin the car 180 degrees and rip the rear bumper off the frame. No injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

Something similar happened in September 2012, when a man driving a silver Toyota Tacoma turned in front of the train<\/a> at Eighth Street.<\/p>\n

And earlier this year, three vehicles took a wrong turn and ended up on the tracks in downtown Durango. To be fair, the tracks (and roads) were buried in snow. The train didn\u2019t hit any of the vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"The
The engineer and fireman keep close eyes on the track Friday as the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train makes its way through downtown Durango. A man, believed to be heavily intoxicated, was hit by the train last week, causing serious injuries.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

McCoy said the slow nature of D&SNG may make people sort of \u201cnumb\u201d toward trains in general.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are habitually going to try to outrun a train that\u2019s going 25 (mph) then go out east of Denver where they\u2019re going 78 (mph) with the same mindset. It\u2019s a totally different story,\u201d McCoy said<\/p>\n

Some people walk dogs along train tracks. Some wear headphones or laugh with friends. Some students near McCoy\u2019s house on the Front Range sit on the tracks at lunch, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Trains) can\u2019t stop on a dime like a car or a bicycle or anything,\u201d McCoy said. \u201cIt\u2019s the responsibility of the individual to be smart around the track; just being aware of the danger of it, because they\u2019re not going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

bhauff@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

incident a reminder even slow-moving trains can be dangerous<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6219,5740,5736,5735,6239],"tags":[170,13,1310],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-93090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-durango-and-silverton-narrow-gauge-railroad-co","category-frontpage-lead","category-local-news","category-news","category-safety-of-citizens","tag-durango-and-silverton-narrow-gauge-railroad-co","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-safety-of-citizens"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93090"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=93090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}