Man hit by SkyTrain at New Westminster Station taken to hospital
Posted May 25, 2022 3:57 pm.
Last Updated May 26, 2022 9:40 am.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police now confirms a man who fell onto the tracks at the New Westminster Station Wednesday was hit by a SkyTrain car.
The man fell around 2:30 p.m. The incident shut down the station for some time.
“What happened is there was a gentleman on the platform that fell into the SkyTrain tracks just before a train was coming in. He was in fact hit by the train,” explained Const. Amanda Steed with Transit Police Wednesday night.
#SkyTrain Expo Line service between Columbia Station and 22nd Street Station is suspended due to medical emergency. Bus Bridge in place between Edmonds Stn and Columbia Stn. M-Line and Canada Line unaffected. Next update approx 4:00 PM ^LA
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) May 25, 2022
Steed says the man was “trapped under the train for a short period of time” while first responders arrived. She tells CityNews crews also had to wait for SkyTrain technicians to arrive before they could free the man.
“We use special equipment to, what we call, jack up the train. So it’s almost like an air pillow that we have to inflate to be able to lift that train up and extract the person from underneath the tracks,” she said.
The man suffered injuries to his head and ankle. Steed says he was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital where he is being treated.
Investigators have reviewed footage from the station and don’t believe there’s any criminal nature to what happened. Steed says it appears the man “just tripped and fell.”
“Unfortunately he was too close to the tracks and he just fell in,” she added.
“There is a silver lining: he did fall farther down the platform where the train had already slowed quite a bit which, I think, is what, in fact, saved his life.”
Police have previously said the man was conscious when first responders arrived. It’s unclear how serious his injuries are at this point.
Steed notes witnessing something like this can be traumatic. She says support is available to anyone who may have seen what happened.
The emergency shut down New Westminster Station for a few hours. The Canada Line and Millennium Lines were not affected.
Service at the station resumed just after 5:30 p.m.
#SkyTrain Single Tracking at New Westminster Station is now over. Service is operating normally in both directions. Expect some delays and gaps in service as train spacing is restored. We thank you all for your patience this afternoon! ^sp
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) May 26, 2022
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