Struck by a train, Hanover man wakes up on tracks

By MARC SHAPIRO, Staff Writer
Published 02/08/10

Scott Gore woke up on the train tracks that divide Anne Arundel and Howard counties at about 1 a.m.

He only had one shoe on.

He was dehydrated. His head was pounding. His pants were torn and his legs were throbbing in pain.

He couldn't help but think he'd been hit by a passing freight train.

The last thing he remembered was doing the Cha Cha slide at his company Christmas party. He had no idea how he got to dark stretch just south of the Dorsey MARC station in Hanover.

"It was open (bar) and I drank more than anyone needed to drink," the 21-year-old Hanover man said. "It was an awesome party … terrible morning."

No one is really sure how Gore ended up on that stretch of tracks on Dec. 13, or what actually happened to him that night.

"I think when the train hit me or whatever happened, I was knocked out from my pain," he said.

For 2½ years, Gore and his family have lived near Ohio Avenue, a long two-lane road that runs parallel to the railroad tracks used by CSX, Amtrak and MARC trains.

There is no fence or railing preventing someone from walking right onto the tracks. The only thing separating the road from the tracks is a few yards of grass.

"If my kids had been smaller I would have never moved into that house," said Elaine Gore, Scott's mother.

Dragging himself

He regained consciousness that night, but he couldn't walk.

So he began to drag himself along the ground along the railbed, pulling his damaged body along by his arms for what he believes was five hours.

Talking about his ordeal from his bed, Gore pulled out the black pants he wore that night. They show a huge rip in front the right side of the waist down to the knee.

He suspects that happened when he was hit or thrown by a passing train. But the pants also are marked with dozens of small tears, rips opened by gravel as he dragged himself along the tracks.

It was cold that night, with temperatures in the low 30s and a cold rain falling some of the time.

Gore estimated it took him two hours to cover the distance to the spot where the tracks cross over Dorsey Road.

"I was having my arms just drag my lower body," he said. "I had a broken knee and ankles and was freezing."

It was just before sunrise when he crawled down the embankment to Dorsey Road and, still lying on the ground, began waving at the few cars passing at that time of the morning.

Eventually a man in a tan Ford Explorer stopped. The man picked up Gore, helped him get in the SUV, drove him to his home about a mile away and helped him get out of the vehicle.

He arrived at about 8 a.m., seven hours after he woke up on the tracks.

"I just shut the door and fell in the foyer," Gore said. "I said 'I think I got hit by a train.' "

Numerous surgeries

His mother called 911 and county Fire Department paramedics and police officers quickly showed up.

He was sent to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie and then transferred to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

His mangled left leg was set with bolts and wire supported by a metal frame. He also had surgery to rebuild his knee. He was released four days later.

The hospital told Gore that the alcohol in his system actually worked to his advantage. Because his blood was thin, it was able to keep flowing to his mangled left leg, which developed a massive blood clot.

While crawling in the dirt and cold rain didn't help, Gore said his doctors told him the temperatures numbed his legs so he felt less pain.

On Christmas Eve, he had more surgery on his left leg. On Dec. 29, he was rushed back to shock trauma for a blood clot in that leg.

On New Year's Eve, a filter was placed to break the clot.

The next day, he was rushed back to shock trauma for bowel blockage.

He was diagnosed with Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome, a hereditary disorder in which polyps build up and cause intestinal blockage.

He had more surgery on his left foot on Jan. 8 and was finally released again on the Jan. 11.

"As far as we know, there are no more surgeries for Scott," his mother said.

Mystery continues

Trying to figure out exactly what happened has proven difficult.

Howard County Police walked the tracks looking for clues, alerted by hospital officials that an accident had happened in their jurisdiction.

An officer found Gore's shoe about 50 feet south of the train station on the Howard side of the tracks, according to an e-mail Elaine Gore received from Cpl. Tayna Riffle Burke, acting supervisor that day.

Riffle Burke wrote that CSX has the responsibility for the investigation, but no one came out that day to inspect the scene.

A pedestrian accident report was filed with the company, but the Gores haven't heard anything from it.

Gore works for family-owned logistics provider Priority Worldwide Services as a warehouse worker, but he won't be there for quite some time. He will be taking it easy. His left leg is in a cast from his hip to his toes and the doctors aren't sure if he'll regain full use of his leg.

After all of the hospital visits and surgery, Gore said he doesn't plan on drinking again and feels lucky to be alive.

"I've been a healthy guy up until this," he said. "I've had some crazy stories but nothing like this."

From: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/nbh/2010/02/08-32/Struck-by-a-train-Hanover-man-wakes-up-on-tracks.html?ne=1