Man injured trying to jump Spokane Valley train

A man trying to jump onto a moving train in Spokane Valley on Monday slipped and fell under the box car, nearly severing his legs. Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford said a woman passing by the tracks in the area of North Fancher Road and East Rutter Avenue heard him screaming and stopped to call 911 just after 12:30 p.m. “Without this lady that had stopped, if she didn’t stop, it’s hard to say if anybody else would have heard this young man screaming,” Clifford said. “She really did save his life.” He said the 30-year-old man was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. It was unclear if medical personnel were going to be able to reattach his legs. Clifford said the man had a Spokane Valley address listed on his identification but it is unclear if he was living there recently. The train, which doesn’t reach more than 20 or 25 mph in that area, was coming to a stop when the man fell beneath the car. Clifford said it was one of the worst injuries he has seen in his years on the job. “It appears that he was able to crawl away from the tracks,” Clifford said, “He was about 10 feet away from the tracks when we arrived on scene.”