12 April 2024
JACKSON COUNTY (KSNT) – Taylor Smith, of Alma, said he was “lucky to be alive” after being hit by a train in Jackson County and waking up in the hospital.
Smith said he was walking from Topeka to Wamego to surprise a friend and got lost. He was using GPS on his phone but his phone died he was trying to backtrack his steps when he attempted to cross the train tracks.
According to Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse, he was trying to cross between the cars of a parked train and was hit by another train heading westbound. Smith said he was hit in the head by the door handle on a train car.
“They didn’t blow their horn nothing, they didn’t see me,” Smith said.
According to Smith, he didn’t hear the train coming and after being hit he had to crawl to the other side of the train tracks. He said a farmer saw him and called 911. Within five minutes police were on scene.
“A box car was left open and the handle was left out,” Smith recalled. “I lost a lot of blood, they got me in the ambulance and everything went black. I woke up in Stormont Vail Hospital.”
Smith was rushed to the hospital. He said he suffered from a gash wound from his eyebrow to the top of his head, a sprained shoulder and road rash. He was given 10 stitches to his head.
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