I had almost given up on the kid who was struck by a WES train during rush hour on Monday. Hit by a heavy-rail train? Air-lifted out by a medi-vac helicopter? That doesn’t bode well. A woman wearing headphones was struck and killed by the MAX last year.

So I was excited to learn today that the kid is alive! And survived his run-in with the WES with “non-life-threatening” injuries. Here’s what TriMet says about the incident:

Justin Leonard (born 1987) was on his skateboard and listening to an iPod with earphones in his ears at the time of the accident. The Train Engineer saw him and sounded the horn to catch his attention as the train approached the intersection. When Leonard reached the “Stop Here” sign in the pavement, he kicked up his skateboard to catch it. He missed and the skateboard went into the right of way and he darted toward it and was struck by the train. Non life threatening injuries.

Since I don’t have a photo of the skater, I’ll just assume he looks like this:

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Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

2 replies on “Skater Hit by WES Has “Non-Life Threatening” Wounds”

  2. It’s just an update on what happened to the guy. I assume people care whether someone hit by the WES train dies or is just injured.

    Also, the circumstances of how he was hit wasn’t released before, we heard he was wearing headphones but the whole skateboard-in-the-tracks thing is new info.

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