Bloomington, Ind. – These two women are lucky to be alive.
Video released by Indiana Railroad shows two women who became trapped on an 80-foot-high railroad bridge when a freight train surprised them as they were walking on the tracks.
The train engine’s camera captured the incident earlier this month. The engineer activated the train’s emergency braking when he saw the women on the tracks, said Eric Powell with Indiana Railroad
“The engineer followed all appropriate protocols, immediately applying an emergency brake application and repeatedly sounded the horn. However, as the subjects ran toward the opposite end of the viaduct, the engineer was helpless to do more. The ever-slowing train was still catching up to the fleeing trespassers.” – Indiana Railroad
The women had few choices because jumping from the 80-foot-high bridge would have likely resulted in serious injuries.
One woman lies down in the middle of the tracks while the other woman contemplates jumping off the bridge. Seconds later, she runs to the middle of the track as the train approaches them.
Both women survived.
“The engineer assumed he had just killed two people; Monroe County Sheriff’s Department was quickly alerted. Miraculously, however, the two subjects survived, and escaped to a nearby vehicle and fled the scene.” – Indiana Railroad
Indiana Railroad officials said the women have been identified and will be prosecuted for trespassing.
