Amtrak Kicks a Man with Insulin Shock off the Train in a National Forest . The Man is Now Missing.

[ariesgem]

June 28 (UPI) -- A 65-year-old diabetic man from St. Louis was missing after being kicked off an Amtrak train in a national forest outside Williams, Ariz.

Police reported that Roosevelt Sims was on his way to Los Angeles when he was asked to leave the train at a railroad crossing 5 miles outside Williams for being drunk and unruly, Phoenix's KPHO-TV reported Thursday.

"He was let off in the middle of a national forest, which is about 800,000 acres of beautiful pine trees," police Lt. Mike Graham said.

The area where the man was deposited doesn't have a train station or running water, said police.

Sims's family said he is diabetic and was probably going into shock when officers arrived at the crossing and he took off into the woods, leaving his luggage and medication behind, the television station said.

"You don't put anyone off in an area like that," Graham said.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/06/28/man_missing_after_being_kicked_off_amtrak/3021/

[Greyskye]

1. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1205234

[rzemanfl]

2. The utter incompetence of our nation is appalling. n/t

[Totally Committed]

4. It's not just incompetence,

it's a general lack of compassion for our fellow human beings, too.

No matter how "drunk" or "unruly", NO ONE should be put off a train between stations in what sounds like a wilderness setting, ESPECIALLY someone who is elderly. They threw him off with his luggage and what was he supposed to do? No station was nearby. There was no running water. If he was "drunk", could he even be expected to defend himself from the wildlife there? What has happened to this country? Where the hell are our hearts? This is just awful.

TC

[WinkyDink]

5. It's the Bushco way!

[Cobalt Violet]

15. The death penalty for being "unruly".

That's what has happened to this country. It's insane.

[youngdem]

3. Someone's family is about to be the proud owner of a forty year old train

[peacebird]

6. I hope the poor fellow is found alive, and then he sues the pants off Amtrak

[Ilsa]

7. Aircraft have emergency medical kits, and I presume the flight

attendants have been trained to use them. I wouldn't expect a diagnosis from an attendant or train stweard, but you'd think they would be trained to ask a few questions or make observations about whether they had been drinking, etc. instead of assuming they are drunk versus ill. Even if they are drunk, you don't throw drunks off a train. You find a way to mitigate the situation so no one, including the passenger, gets hurt.

That poor man. I hope his family tears Amtrak a new one.

[kestrel91316]

8. Summer in AZ. No water. No food. Diabetic getting crazy from low

blood sugar, I suspect.

Who is the rocket scientist who thought this was a good mix? Don't the train crew get any emergency training like flight attendants do???

He's a dead man by now.

[phusion]

9. This is awful...

My father is type I diabetic and we've been through our share of insulin shock episodes. I really don't understand how one can mistake that kind of episode for drunkenness. I really hope he is found alive. Has Search and Rescue been dispatched?

:(

[tbyg52]

16. Even if he *was* drunk,

there is no excuse for dumping someone in the middle of the woods.

There is no excuse for dumping someone in a *town* without ensuring that someone will watch over them if they do not appear able to do so themselves.

[RamboLiberal]

10. This is the kind of story that breaks your heart - more on Mr. Sims

I've been googling hoping for a good ending. Gawd I hope they find this man.

Roosevelt Sims, 65, had finally retired.

So for his first vacation ever, the steel mill worker hopped on an Amtrak train in St. Louis and headed to Los Angeles to visit his family.

-----

Sims' family believes he went into a diabetic shock. They were able to call him on his cell phone the following day, but the 65-year-old sounded disoriented.

"They knew something was drastically wrong," Graham said. "They kept trying to call him. His conversations got progressively worse. He seemed to be getting more incoherent."

-----

"Amtrak followed company policy Sunday night (6/24) when a passenger was escorted off Amtrak's Southwest Chief train #3 in Williams Junction, AZ, at a regularly scheduled station stop with a station platform and roadway access. Amtrak would never leave a person alone in a remote location under any circumstances. In this case, the conductor and the passenger waited on the platform with the passenger's luggage. Upon arrival of authorities, the passenger fled into nearby woods. The investigation is being handled by Williams PD."

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/KTVKLNews20070628_retired-guy.23d67705.html

[Bake]

11. I really hate what our country has become.

Thanks to Raygun. Limpballs. Coulter. Hannity. Bill-O. And most of all, BushCo. I really loathe these bastards.

Bake

[file83]

12. I smell a lawsuit of gargantuan proportions here.

Amtrak is going bye-bye.

[girl gone mad]

13. It doesn't sound like they simply threw him off the train.

They had two people wait with him at a station, and when police arrived he ran off. Does diabetic shock make a person behave that way (I honestly don't know)? Why didn't he take his medicine or let someone know?

He has a cellphone, which was working. Hopefully they will be able to track him down.

Edit: I got my answer. This article gives more details, and Amtrak comes off even worse in it.

Experts say a diabetic in shock could appear intoxicated. Symptoms of low blood sugar include shakiness, an increased heart rate and sweats. They can also experience something akin to a "fright response," similar to feeling scared, said Dr. Garry Tobin, director of the Washington University Diabetes Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "Missing the warning signs, a person can become disoriented and confused," Tobin said.

[blondie58]

14. that link states that he has been found!

A St. Louis man who was booted off a train in Arizona on Sunday has been found, a Phoenix television station says.

KPNX-TV reported late Thursday that a sheriff's deputy had found Roosevelt Sims, 65. He was taken to a hospital in Flagstaff, the station said.


Thank goodness!

[girl gone mad]

19. They updated it since I posted.

Good news!

[DS1]

17. Well, at least the trees are pretty

:eyes:

Nice police work there, Lou

[struggle4progress]

18. Deputies Find Diabetic Man Kicked Off Train

http://www.wpxi.com.nyud.net:8090/2007/0629/13593747.jpg

Passenger Barefoot, Dehydrated, Disoriented, Deputies Say

POSTED: 9:32 am EDT June 29, 2007
UPDATED: 11:19 am EDT June 29, 2007

WILLIAMS, Ariz. -- A 65-year-old St. Louis man who went missing Sunday night after Amtrak personnel, mistaking his diabetic shock for drunk and disorderly behavior, kicked him off a train in the middle of a national forest, has been found two miles from where he was dropped off, according to police in Williams.

Police said Roosevelt Sims, a factory worker who had just retired last week, was discovered Thursday night walking along the railroad tracks barefoot by Coconino County sheriff's deputies.

Deputies said he was dehydrated and disoriented.

He was rushed to a Flagstaff hospital for emergency treatment, deputies said. ~snip~

http://www.wpxi.com/news/13593800/detail.html