A Tucumcari man, who tried to outrun a freight train at a railroad crossing on Friday, is in intensive care in a Amarillo, Texas hospital, according to police reports and the man's family.
Issac Pacheco, Jr., 46, was hit Friday by a Union Pacific train at the railroad tracks and Rock Island Avenue shortly before 4 p.m., according to a Tucumcari Police Department report.
Pacheco's father, Issac Pacheco, Sr., said he was unable to talk to his son, Issac, Jr., after the accident. "They took him off in a helicopter. His mother (Andrita Pacheco) is there (in Amarillo) with him now."
However, Issac Pacheco, Sr. said doctors had put a pin in his son's leg.
"He's a lucky guy .He tired to beat the train across the tracks," said Tucumcari Police Chief Roger Hatcher who was at the scene. "He was conscious and able to give us his phone number."
Hatcher also said, "It really didn't have to happen. You can't take it back. I wish people would be extra careful."
Issac Pacheco, Jr. was hit when he "tried to run across the train tracks and beat the train but did not make it," according to a witness, the police report said.
The report also said that Issac Pacheco Jr. was walking with his dog, a German Shepherd named Duran, when the accident occurred.
The dog, Duran, was not injured in the accident and was found standing close beside the injured Pacheco when officers arrived.
After Tucumcari police had processed the area, they turned the scene over to a Union Pacific railroad police official, the report said.
