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SALT LAKE CITY -- A man is recovering from his injuries after he was hit by a TRAX train Tuesday night.
While incidents like this are uncommon, the Utah Transit Authority recognizes train-pedestrian accidents are beginning to happen more often.
"We're always very saddened any time somebody is injured. We want our system to be safe," said UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.
At 9:30 Tuesday night, UTA says a man in his 50s ran across the street and attempted to catch a northbound train near 450 S. Main Street.
"He apparently was trying to get the doors to open, or trying to stop or something, and was knocked down by the train," Carpenter said.
He was rushed to the hospital and is expected to be OK, but he's lucky.
Last Friday a FrontRunner train hit a teenage girl in Farmington and sent her to the hospital in critical condition.
In March, a 19-year-old man died from his injuries he was hit by a TRAX train in Midvale.
"If you make contact as a pedestrian with a train, you're going to get hurt," Carpenter said.
UTA says passengers might be getting too comfortable. TRAX has been running more than 10 years now; Frontrunner for a year and a half.
"You can never get too comfortable around trains. We want people to be safe and remember these are big vehicles. They can't stop on a dime," Carpenter said.
Tuesday night's accident is being investigated by Salt Lake City police.
UTA says it's always looking into the latest safety tools and hopes to continue educating the public about being cautious and alert near trains.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
