11-Year-Old Boy Pulled Under Train May Lose Limbs After Acting On Dare

An 11-year-old boy who touched a moving train on a dare and was then dragged under it Friday afternoon may lose a leg, an arm and possibly a shoulder, authorities said.

The accident happened around 2 p.m. on the tracks at Trent and Park in the Valley, Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan said.

The boy was with other children on their way home from Seth Woodard Elementary at Mission and Park, Reagan said. The school is about four blocks from the tracks.

“The victim was dared to touch an eastbound train. He did touch it and was snagged and dragged under the train,” Reagan said.

A piece of the boy’s clothing likely got caught on the train, he said.

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway train crew was in no way at fault, he said. The children likely walked under the railroad warning gate, he said.

The victim was taken to Deaconess Medical Center, where he was in serious condition Friday night, Reagan said.

A woman who lives in the Quinta Maria Apartments on Park near the tracks where the accident happened said she wasn’t surprised when she woke up from a nap to the sounds of rescue sirens and vehicles outside. She said she sees children on the tracks all the time.

“If a train is stopped and the kids are on their bikes, they will crawl between the cars and pull their bikes over,” she said.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she also frequently sees adults driving through the train crossing at Trent and Park, despite the warning lights.

“My husband is a railroad man. When those lights are on, you better stop,” she said.