MONTREAL--A woman is in hospital Wednesday fighting for her life after having both legs severed by a moving train.
The victim, in her 30s, was in critical condition after she and a group of friends decided to cross between the wagons of a stopped train at the entrance to the clock tower at De la Commune and Bonsecour Sts. in the Old Port just before 2 a.m.
The train started moving again, and the victim lost her balance and fell between railway cars. The train rolled over her legs.
There are no security barriers, flashing lights, or bells to warn pedestrians at the site, which is Port of Montreal territory despite the tracks being owned by CN.
Local resident Philip Letour Douglas said there should be security measures in place at the crossing.
"Like they do when they dynamite -- they have a big horn that goes off 30 times. It should be the same here. It should be the lights like you do when you're at a cross section on the road. It should be the same thing on the road and it should be at each intersection, not just periodically at one place to another," he said.
Two friends were treated for shock following the incident.
Police spokesperson Daniel Lacoursiere said the group had been drinking.
"There's a club in the Old Port. They may have been coming back from that. The investigators are meeting with the persons that she was with when the accident happened," he said.
The Old Port of Montreal is cooperating with the police investigation and issued a statement, which reads:
The Old Port of Montreal security agents followed the usual security procedures to manage the train crossing. Unfortunately a visitor did not follow the warnings and the accident happened.
The Port of Montreal said the train was only stopped for eight minutes.
