20-year-old man sleeping on Ann Arbor railroad tracks hospitalized after his hand gets stuck in freight train

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) -- A young man who was sleeping on railroad tracks in Ann Arbor is hospitalized after he was pinned underneath a freight train, according to authorities.

Ann Arbor Fire Department officials said the 20-year old's left hand was run over and then got caught in the train's wheels and axle. The man himself was lying between the rails under the train, officials said.

On the scene at around 9:30 p.m. Monday, first responders called in crews from Survival Flight and a surgical team to the scene to amputate the man's arm if needed.

It took rescue crews nearly two hours to free the man, and it appears he will get to keep his hand, according to Fire Chief Mike Kennedy.

The young man was taken to University of Michigan Hospital where he was listed in stable condition.

"Due to the patient’s location combined with strength of the metal of this part of the locomotive, extrication efforts were incredibly challenging," Ann Arbor Fire said, in a post along with photos shared on social media. "...This was a once in career incident for those involved. Normally, person versus train incidents are fatal. This was a true team effort."

Why would anyone be sleeping on the tracks?

"We believe the individual was unhoused," Kennedy said. "We also believe alcohol was a likely factor in the decision making. It was very close in proximity to the city's homeless shelter, so we don't know of a correlation if he was there, or trying to get there."