FARMINGTON — A 16-year-old girl is in critical condition at Intermountain Medical Center after a run-in with a FrontRunner train just before midnight Thursday.
"She actually walked into the train," Utah Transit Authority spokesman Brandon Bott said. "The train didn't hit her, like the front of it, she actually walked into the train and got kind of a glancing blow."
Shelby Elliot was waiting on the platform of the Farmington FrontRunner station at 450 N. 850 West for a northbound train when she collided with the train between the second and last car, Bott said.
"We're actually uncertain of where she was trying to cross," Bott said, but he noted that Elliot landed on the platform when she fell. Initial reports suggested she may have been attempting to cross from an outer platform to the center platform when the passing southbound train knocked her down.
The girl suffered lacerations and other injuries. She was flown by medical helicopter to Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition.
The train driver has been given a drug test, which is routine in all accidents. Bott did not know if the driver was placed on a leave while the accident is investigated.
"We think this is a very unfortunate incident," Bott said. "And it's strange…that she failed to see the train."
UTA wants to remind passengers to pay attention to oncoming trains, Bott said.
— Laura Hancock and Jacob Hancock