Extensive Surgery Saves Hand of Man Hit by Train
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SANTA ANA — A homeless man was in guarded condition Saturday at Western Medical Center after an Amtrak train hit him Friday night, pinning his right hand under a train wheel for more than an hour. Surgeons were able to save his hand.
James Fish, 61, was walking with a shopping cart down the railroad tracks near 4th and Terminal streets shortly after 9 p.m. when a southbound train headed for San Diego pulled out of the Santa Ana Transportation Center, said Santa Ana Police Lt. Dave Petko.
The engineer saw Fish and sounded an alarm, but the shopping cart apparently became lodged in the tracks and Fish, a transient who appeared to be heavily inebriated, did not move, police said. The train hit Fish as it was coming to a stop, he rolled over, and his right arm was caught under a heavy train wheel.
Western Medical Center nursing supervisor Michael Escobosa said extensive surgery had been performed at the hospital, and the man’s hand was saved.
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