May 09--A man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition late Tuesday afternoon after he was extricated from beneath a light-rail car in downtown Sacramento.
Regional Transit spokeswoman Alane Masui said the incident occurred at 4:24 p.m. The victim and two other people were reportedly involved in an argument on the K Street Mall when the man somehow fell between the first and second cars of an eastbound light-rail train.
Assistant Chief Niko King of the Sacramento Fire Department said the man, whose name has not been released, was pinned under the middle portion of the second car.
Firefighters used pneumatic air bags and a hydraulic jack to lift the car and free him. King said the extrication took about 25 minutes. He said the man was conscious and talking to rescuers.
"Our crews were talking to him and trying to calm him down," King said.
He described the man's condition as critical, saying he suffered severe injuries to his pelvis and lower extremities.
King said the four-car train was coming to a stop when the incident occurred, preventing the man from being dragged.
Masui said she did not know how many people were aboard the train when the accident occurred, but there were no reports of injuries to passengers or RT employees.
King said the train was not damaged.
The accident disrupted service on RT's Blue and Gold lines at the height of the evening commute because power had to be shut off at three of the system's substations for the rescue. Masui said shuttle buses were used to transport passengers from affected stations.
Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said the RT police force, made up of Sacramento police officers and Sacramento County sheriff's deputies, will investigate the incident.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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