Crime & Safety

Teen Struck by Trolley Was Becoming a 'Man of Integrity,' Mentor Says

Boy, 17, who apparently stumbled onto the tracks has shown improvement from brain injuries.

Updated at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 23, 2012

The 17-year-old boy who suffered critical injuries in Tuesday’s trolley accident in The Village was attending an East County continuation high school and making strides to “becoming a man of integrity,” his mentor says.

Anthony Hutchings, who works with to Boys to Men mentoring group, said in a phone interview Thursday that the teen who stumbled onto trolley tracks at the La Mesa Boulevard station “wasn’t a boy out running around in gangs. It was just a tragic accident.”

Earlier Thursday, a cousin told La Mesa Patch via email that the boy has undergone neurosurgery and is “looking a little better since he first came in.”

The teen, who just celebrated his birthday, wasn’t expected to survive when he first arrived at Sharp Memorial Hospital, the cousin said.

Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“All prayer is highly appreciated,” said the male cousin, whose name is being withheld by request. “That’s all we can do is PRAY for a miracle right now. We all have faith, so I believe our prayers will be answered in the name of Jesus.”

Thursday morning, doctors told the family the young man is improving despite severe brain injuries.

Hutchings said he had heard that the boy was put in an induced coma and had part of his scalp removed to relieve pressure on a swelling brain.

“[The teen] was a great young man,” he said. “When I first met him, he was very angry. … He always had a smile for everyone, always had a good mood.”

Hutchings likened the boy’s move to hop a fence and race to the trolley to those who run into a street to fetch a baseball—just something adolescents do. 

Find out what's happening in La Mesa-Mount Helixwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hutchings said his job at the Grossmont Union High School District school was to “walk [boys] into their manhood.”

Story from 3:55 p.m. Feb. 21, 2012:

A 17-year-old boy suffered what an MTS supervisor called “survivable” injuries Tuesday morning after hopping a fence at the downtown station and stumbling into the path of a slowing trolley.

John Floyd, the supervisor, said the boy had just been dropped off at the station by his mother when he was struck by the train about 10:50 a.m.

Heartland Fire & Rescue crews pulled the boy from beneath the train, according to Sonny Saghera of the Heartland Fire & Rescue Agency.

“It was really a quick operation,” Saghera said, correcting early reports that the boy was “trapped” under the train. 

Saghera said the first calls were received at 10:51 a.m., and it took only 2 minutes for the Allison Avenue unit to reach the scene.

The boy was rushed to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where he was admitted in critical condition, Saghera said.

Witnesses told investigators the boy apparently was aware of the approaching light-rail train at the La Mesa Boulevard and Spring Street station and was trying to “beat it'” across the tracks, Saghera said.

A witness, Christina Taylor, was quoted by NBC San Diego as saying:  “I went closer, you know they were up under and they drug his body out, you know. But he was still breathing when they took him from under there. A little blood on his face and they also say he was talking a little bit so hopefully he'll be OK.”

The incident led to traffic snarls downtown for a half-hour, with beeping horns and backups on University Avenue and other streets as police closed off sections of The Village, ending about 11:40 a.m.

Police Lt. Matt Nicholass said the La Mesa Police Department dispatched a dozen people to the scene—including eight officers, two supervisors and two community service officers who helped with traffic control.

U-T San Diego reported:

Surveillance camera footage shows the teen exiting a car that was stopped at the light at the intersection of La Mesa and Spring, said Rob Schupp, spokesman for Metropolitan Transit System. The teen then walked across the sidewalk and hopped over a low fence. Without looking up, he walked across the trolley platform and across the tracks as the Orange Line trolley was slowing on approach to the station, Schupp said.



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.