Trapped man’s leg amputated in S. Salt Lake train yard

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Emergency crews say they created a makeshift surgery unit in a Salt Lake-area train yard to amputate the leg of a 19-year-old trapped under cargo.

South Salt Lake Fire Chief Ron Morris says the man may have been pinned for eight hours before a railroad worker found him about 1 p.m. Thursday.

Morris tells KSL the man and his dog apparently hopped a freight train in Denver. He was found in an open train car carrying sheets of steel up to 15 feet long, and was apparently trapped when the cargo shifted.

Officials say the dog was killed in the accident.

Morris says a surgeon was flown from University Hospital to amputate the leg during a two-hour extrication process.

The man was taken to the hospital in critical condition.