'HORSEPLAY' NEAR TRAIN ENDS IN DEATH STUNT GOES WRONG; VICTIM, 42, IS DRAGGED FOR A MILE.Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - A 42-year-old man who tried to tether tether to tie an animal up by the head or neck so that it can graze but not move away. See also barton tether. a shopping cart to a passing freight train died after being ensnared by the cart and dragged for about a mile, authorities said Tuesday. Alan Pichel, accompanied by his 17-year-old son and the boy's girlfriend, threw a bottle that was tied to the cart into the path of a southbound train, said John Bromley, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Pacific was authorized to build a line westward from Omaha, Nebr. . ``Apparently, they wanted to watch the shopping cart be dragged along by the train,'' Bromley said. ``He got entangled en·tan·gle tr.v. en·tan·gled, en·tan·gling, en·tan·gles 1. To twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; snarl. 2. To complicate; confuse. 3. To involve in or as if in a tangle. in the shopping cart.'' Pichel was hit about 6:35 p.m. Monday near Los Angeles and Sequoia avenues, and dragged about a mile by the train, which was going about 15 mph, officials said. Pichel died from multiple blunt-force trauma. ``It looks like he was involved in some type of horseplay horse·play n. Rowdy or rough play. horseplay Noun rough or rowdy play Noun 1. along the railroad tracks,'' Simi Valley police Sgt. Joe May said. ``It's unfortunate that this strange chain of events led to Mr. Pichel's death.'' The son and his girlfriend, whose names were not released, were not injured. No one on the train was hurt. ``It's an extremely unusual occurrence,'' said Steve Kolm, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was created in 1966 as a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation to promote rail transportation and safety. The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the Department of Transportation concerned with intermodal transportation. . A woman was killed in North Hollywood Feb. 9 after she pushed a shopping cart into a moving freight train, but that death was ruled a suicide because witnesses saw her deliberately push the cart into the train, authorities said. The three-locomotive freight hauling 86 cars was traveling from Roseville to Colton, Bromley said. Pichel's death illustrates the dangers of trespassing on railroad tracks, Bromley said. ``We would like it if people stayed off the tracks, period,'' he said. Andrea Cavanaugh, (805) 583-7602 andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com |
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