Person Freed From Beneath Trolley

The teenage boy is alive after being trapped from under the trolley

A teenager who was temporarily trapped beneath a trolley is alive, according to officials.

Witnesses say a 17-year old boy was hit after he hopped the fence and tried to beat an incoming trolley by running across the tracks.

"I went closer, you know they were up under and they drug his body out, you know. But he was till 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 okay,” said witness Christina Taylor.

MTS spokesperson Rob Schupp says while trolley versus pedestrian accidents are rare, it is common for people to underestimated how fast the trolley is going and run across the tracks.

"It's really important that when you're coming up to a trolley crossing just like your coming up to a major thoroughfare, you have to stop you have to look both ways, you have to listen.”

We even saw a close call while shooting this story. Even with a warning from a friend and trolley horn, a teenager barely avoids being hit. It’s something trolley riders say is far too common.

"They'll run out in a minute, I see it all the time,” said trolley rider Diamond Moore.

"They wait til the trolley gets right there and then they try to beat it to the stop there and it happens all the time,” said trolley rider Krist Johnson.

Schupp says there are safety measures in place to protect riders. At every stop there are yellow and black markers on the ground telling to stand behind the line. Schupp says riders should never think they're faster than a trolley.

"They're very heavy. They don't stop very quickly. So you have to be very careful," he said.

The trolley runs about every 15 minutes so Schupp says it's not worth risking your life.

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