Elderly Man Jams Bike On Railroad Tracks, Rescued By Police

RIVERSIDE, IL — Riverside Police helped an elderly man from Berwyn who was riding his bike and got stuck on the railroad tracks in Riverside, police said. At 12:47 p.m. Sunday, police received a 911 call from a man who told police he was stuck on the tracks near the First Avenue railroad overpass by Parkview Road.

When police arrived on scene, the 75-year-old man was standing at the top of the overpass, and his bike was lodged in the tracks nearby. Police said the man had considered walking down the overpass' embankment, but felt it was too steep and he would be injured.

Police assisted the man down to the street level and removed his bike from the tracks. Police said they put a complete stop to all railroad traffic for 20 minutes on the BNSF line so that they could safely remove the man and his bicycle. According to police, the man was treated by paramedics at the scene, but he refused medical attention.

Police said Burlington Northern Railroad police arrived on the scene and gave the man a warning citation for trespassing on the grade crossing.

"This is the fourth railroad or grade crossing incident we've had in the last three months; the others were drunk drivers who drove onto the tracks thinking it was a roadway," Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a release. "In the Sunday incident, the gentleman thought he could ride his bike on a railroad area that is not a grade crossing and not intended for bicycles or pedestrians. Railroad tracks and the grade crossings are not areas designated for pedestrian traffic, bicycle traffic, or any type of motorized traffic. This incident clearly could have ended in a tragedy and I am strongly encouraging all citizens to stay away from the railroad tracks and grade crossings for any type of activity not sanctioned by the railroad."