Woman survives fall from moving Amtrak train

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She opened the emergency exit on the window? Hard to do by accident. Perhaps she woke up in the middle of the night and was confused?

Amazing that she survived.
 
Elderly people often become confused at night when in an unfamiliar environment. As an ICU/ER nurse I see this a lot of this as a cause of injuries. See it often in the hospital. We call it "Sundowners" Syndrome
 
It could have been a suicide attempt. Who knows. Glad that she was found and it sounds like she will be OK>
 
Yes, the second report is much clearer. Seems amazing that she survived. I liked the sheriffs comment! :

"We have strange things happen all the time around here," the sheriff said. "You can't make some of this stuff up."

Ed :cool:
 
It doesn't say how old the kids were who found her, but good for them for telling their parents right away. Probably

helped to save her life.
 
I recently found one of those windows open in the middle of the night going through the desert. Standing in front of it and feeling the summer air rushing by was an exhilarating few moments of nostalgia remembering when you could open your own window on a train for fresh air. Reluctantly, I closed it and went back to bed feeling somewhat younger.
 
The lady evidently left her room on the upper level and went downstairs where she opened the window in the side door. These can be opened and closed rather easily, but they are always (in my experience) clearly marked with signs saying nobody but an employee should open them. It's against the rules to have them open when the train is underway, but passengers sometimes open them and it takes a while for OBS or the conductor to find them. Crew members can't be everywhere at once. The stool she used was probably the stepbox, which is generally kept near the door, or the small stool used by SCA's as an aid in making upper berths.

It does sound like the lady was extremely disoriented. I've seen such passengers, and I will agree that elderly people who tend to be confused will often become more confused after dark. When a window is opened in the middle of the night, the crew has no real reason to assume someone has fallen out. If the door to her room was closed, it might not have been apparent that the room was unlocked & she wasn't inside. So it doesn't surprise me that it took a while for her absence to be noticed.

Confused people can become even more confused when they are in unfamiliar territory, so I have always felt uneasy about people who exhibit these characteristics and are traveling alone. If you have loved ones who fit that description, PLEASE don't let them travel on the trains alone. That's why we call them "loved" ones, isn't it?
 
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have opened that window on the door once or more than once while the train was in motion and going at a good speed :ph34r:

It is as much fun as it sounds it would be... and no, I have not fallen out of the train. Yet.
 
Texan Eagle said:
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have opened that window on the door once or more than once while the train was in motion and going at a good speed :ph34r:

It is as much fun as it sounds it would be... and no, I have not fallen out of the train. Yet.
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I have SO wanted to do this but I don't want to risk getting thrown off the train in the middle of nowhere. I wish my kahunas were as big as yours, even though you don't confirm (nor deny)! ;-)
 
I can remember very friendly and rule breaking conductors on the CZ in the 80's who loved the smell below Donner Pass,,,, they would open that window and I stood next to them,,, now for the real back story, my sainted mother told stories of riding to Yellowstone in the 20's with stenciled warnings saying "don't shoot buffalo from the windows" ....
 
I remember those days too when one could open the Dutch door. This became a no no in the 80s. On occasion a crew member has allowed me to snap a picture out the Dutch door. Must recently on the Canadian last summer.
 
choochoodood said:
Texan Eagle said:
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have opened that window on the door once or more than once while the train was in motion and going at a good speed :ph34r:

It is as much fun as it sounds it would be... and no, I have not fallen out of the train. Yet.
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I have SO wanted to do this but I don't want to risk getting thrown off the train in the middle of nowhere. I wish my kahunas were as big as yours, even though you don't confirm (nor deny)! ;-)
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You can try. It may or may not involve being nice to the sleeper attendant and paying him/her the tip in advance. They may then open the window for you under their supervision, for a short time. I am not saying this happened, but I am not saying this did not happen either :ph34r:
 
The scenery is easily the nicest aspect of traveling with Amtrak. Which is what makes the heavily tinted windows and lack of a dome car so unfortunate. I've never asked about opening the little window inside the door for a few minutes in exchange for a bribe. I figured they'd be against that because they often make a big fuss about people trying to take pictures through the window over the PA. Personally I think taking sharp photos should be allowed without a bribe or threat of being kicked off and arrested at the next crossing. But maybe that's just me.
 
I'm a bit confused. I thought the lady opened an emergency exit window, not a vestibule dutch window/door.

Texas Eagle - Your experience with India Rail certainly makes me jealous! I would almost rather pay to fly over there, ride IR around the country with the door open than to attempt it here.
 
The two news items are in conflict. The second seems to have a more truthful ring to it, although there is no actual emergency exit "door" downstairs or anywhere else on a Superliner. The downstairs door is the regular entry door, but it appears that she left the door closed, but opened the window in that door and fell out. Of course, the first story could be correct, but it's doubtful that she would survive the 10 foot drop at 50 mph with only a broken leg.
 
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VentureForth said:
I'm a bit confused. I thought the lady opened an emergency exit window, not a vestibule dutch window/door.

Texas Eagle - Your experience with India Rail certainly makes me jealous! I would almost rather pay to fly over there, ride IR around the country with the door open than to attempt it here.
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If I read it correctly, she opened this-

zf2tupF.jpg


Also, oops! Busted! :unsure:
 
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