Railroad dangerous place for the homeless

Valerie Miller

Friday, June 16, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

It was a call all too familiar to Metro Police. Another homeless person hit by a train on the railroad tracks near downtown. This time the man was killed -- writing the latest chapter in an ongoing tragedy.

In the most recent fatality three weeks ago, a homeless man wondered onto the railroad tracks and either fell asleep or was drinking and passed out. Listed as a John Doe, the victim became the third homeless person hit by a train this year. The other two lived, but one lost an arm.

"It is a big problem because there are so many homeless downtown and the train tracks run right through downtown," said Eric Fricker, an officer with Metro's Homeless Evaluation Liaison Team. "Most of the missions are right across the railroad tracks, so it becomes a shortcut for the homeless."

Operation Lifesaver, an organization that tries to educate the public about the dangers of crossing railroad tracks, hasn't had much success stopping train accidents involving the homeless, state coordinator Richard Gent said.

"We are trying to get the message out to the homeless that hanging around the railroad tracks is dangerous, but nothing has worked so far," Gent said. "People think that they will hear a loud noise when trains are coming, but trains are quiet."

The number of homeless being injured by trains is frustrating, Fricker said, because many of the accidents could be prevented.

Inadequate fencing is one of the major factors contributing to the tragedy, Fricker said.

"There are some places along the railroad tracks that aren't fenced, or the fences have holes in them," he added. "Even the area right behind the Salvation Army homeless shelter on Owens Avenue isn't properly fenced.

"Every day, about three to 10 homeless people gather and sit right on the railroad tracks waiting for the chow line to open up, because they can see it from there," Fricker said.

The reasons why the homeless are falling victim to train accidents vary. Traditionally, homeless have been drawn to the railroad tracks since the Great Depression of the 1930s, when "hobos" rode the rails as a free mode of transportation from one city to the next, Union Pacific Railroad spokesman Mike Furtney said.

While some may romanticize the adventure of stowing away in box cars, Furtney said the practice is more dangerous than people think.

"While riding the rails may be viewed as a time-honored tradition, it is a stupid and deadly practice that leads to injury and death," Furtney said.

When accidents do occur on the railroad tracks near downtown, Metro is often called, he said. Usually, though, it is Union Pacific Railroad police officers who handle the incidents and make the report, because Union Pacific owns the tracks.

According to Union Pacific records, in the last five years there were 16 pedestrians or "trespassers," as they are officially called, injured by trains in the Las Vegas area with five fatalities. But while there were numerous accidents in 1995, 1998, 1999, and so far in 2000, no accidents were recorded for 1996 or 1997.

The railroad tries to keep accurate records, Furtney said, but he admits he does not know the exact reason for the two-year gap in accidents.

"It could just be an anomaly that no one was hurt during those missing years, or it could be that the data was either not entered or entered wrong," Furtney said.

Longtime Las Vegas homeless advocate John 3:16 Cook said the problem of homeless who get hit by trains is greater than most people realize.

"I would say a couple hundred homeless get hurt each year (in train accidents)," Cook said. "Very, very little of it gets reported. It's just another homeless guy, nobody cares."

While some homeless are taken to hospitals, some are afraid of getting medical treatment for fear of getting in trouble, he said.

"The engineers sometimes don't even see the person if they sneak away between the cars," Cook said. "The homeless are afraid to report their injuries because some have outstanding warrants and they know trespassing on railroad property is against the law."

At least one victim of a train accident in Las Vegas never showed up in the Union Pacific data base.

Salvador Garcia De La Cruz, 32, homeless and an illegal immigrant from Mexico, never made the Union Pacific Railroad records, despite the fact that he was dragged for several feet by a train and lost part of his left leg below the knee in the accident.

Garcia De La Cruz admits he was trying to sneak aboard a train and ride back to Seattle when the August 1999 accident occurred, but he slipped when the train started moving.

Metro, along with Union Pacific Railroad police, responded, Metro Officer Greg Harper said. Harper remembered arriving at the scene of Garcia De La Cruz's accident on the railroad tracks near Bonanza Road, and the semiconscious Garcia De La Cruz being sent to University Medical Center.

While fencing would help, Harper said, those who are determined to cross the tracks will always find a way around or through it.

"There's a 6- to 8-foot fence that runs parallel to Main Street, but people are always jumping it or cutting holes in it," Harper said. "People always want to take the quickest route."

Even where there is a brick wall to protect the businesses along Industrial Road, it has not stopped some, Harper said. "People have brought ladders to climb over the wall."

Most acknowledge that any sort of maintained fence would at least cut down on the number of homeless wandering onto tracks, but the big question remains as to who would foot the bill for it.

"Where it is our responsibility, we (Union Pacific) will try to keep up the fence by repairing it, Furtney said. "In reality, though, we would have to be out there every day to repair it, which is impossible with the amount of land we have to patrol.

"This is a public safety issue, so the city should share in the expense," Furtney said.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said through his city spokesman, Erik Pappa, that while Goodman didn't want to see anyone get hurt, he was planning to look into the matter before considering spending any city money on fencing. While the number of homeless killed or injured on the tracks continues to grow, for those fortunate enough to survive their calamities with trains, the road ahead is tough.

With the help of Metro spokesman Tirso Dominguez, who acted as interpreter, Garcia De La Cruz talked about his ordeal.

"Life is very hard. I cry a lot," said Garcia De La Cruz, who now walks with a donated pair of crutches.

In the two years since his accident, Garcia De La Cruz has lived in abandoned cars, open fields, and in friends' homes. He currently resides under a bridge downtown with a group of other homeless people. It's a bridge not far from where the accident occurred that changed his life forever.

"Only the Salvation Army and the officer (Fricker) helped me," Garcia De La Cruz said. "He (Fricker) is like my lawyer. He helps me and brings me food and water, even though I have no money to pay him."

Garcia De La Cruz, who has little education and speaks no English, has been diagnosed with a mild form of mental illness. He had worked tiling roofs and planting trees prior to his accident. The loss of his leg prevents him from ever doing these types of jobs again, and he has no other job skills.

While Garcia De La Cruz was trying to ride the rails, other factors draw homeless to the railroad tracks.

Out by the railroad tracks, among themselves, the homeless are not driven off by a society that would rather pretend they didn't exist, said a member of the Union Pacific Railroad police force who asked not to be named.

"A lot of these guys just want to go somewhere where they can drink a beer and not be hassled," the officer said. "They can't drink in missions and they can't stay by businesses because the business owners are afraid they'll drive away customers.

"They can go and have some peace at the railroad tracks."

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