ENCINITAS — A young couple, described as local transients, attempted suicide by train on the afternoon of July 1, according to a transit enforcement investigator.
Witnesses reported seeing a young male and female lay down on the train tracks together as a southbound Coaster train approached near the Swami’s undercrossing just after 3 p.m.
The two subjects did not move when the train sounded its horn, bells and whistles, according to Sgt. Jason King.
The Coaster train had just left the Encinitas station and was heading south at about 35 to 40 miles per hour, King explained.
The female suffered a severed arm, according to King, while the male received cuts and bruises. Both were taken to Scripps La Jolla. King said there was an attempt to re-attach the woman’s arm at the hospital, but efforts appeared unsuccessful.
King said the two were 18 years old, though he wasn’t aware of the nature of their relationship.
At about 4 p.m. the train resumed its southbound course following a crew switch.
Two backpacks belonging to the subjects were recovered at the scene where deputies searched the items.
The train enforcement department was investigating the incident. It was ruled a suicide attempt and based on the couple’s mental states, no charges will be filed, according to King.
This story has been updated since its original posting.
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JULY 1st, 2016 : ENCINITAS CA
A distraught woman attempted to take her own life in Encinitas, but was saved by her fast-acting companion who moved her body so that she would not be cut in half by the oncoming southbound train exiting the Encinitas station. He sustained head and hand injuries and was taken to Scripps La Jolla. The young woman was trapped under the train for about a half hour as she was cut free by Encinitas Fire and Rescue and Emergency first responders. Apparently the train engineer saw them and was able to slow to a speed where neither person was instantly killed. Encinitas Police cordoned off the area clad in combat fatigues and body armor for whatever reason. The woman was extracted alive; she evidently lost her right leg and a portion of her right hand. She was taken separately by EMTs to an unknown hospital. A red biohazard bag of destroyed biological material was removed from the scene and placed in the Encinitas fire truck for hazardous waste disposal. A Defibrillator was removed from an EMT vehicle but was subsequently not needed. Quick thinking by a jogging bystander alerted the Engineer to the situation, and apparently he attempted to intervene as well but was only able to help save the young man from further injury or death. Preferring not to be identified; his voice can be overheard on the video…He sustained a scratch.
This could have been much worse and thankfully no one was killed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mul-2rD1SO4
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