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Train hoppers call 911 after train begins moving ‘really fast’

Christian Hale and Kevin Slone hopped onto a moving train, only to call 911 when they were unable to get off

By EMS1 Staff

DOYLESTOWN, Ohio — Two train hoppers who were unable to handle the high speeds called 911 for help.

WGAL reported that Christian Hale and Kevin Slone jumped onto a moving train and ended up hanging off the car for 60 miles when the train picked up speed and they were unable to get off.

Hale called 911 and frantically explained what was going on to a dispatcher.

“I’m on a train!” he said.

“You’re on a train?” the dispatcher responded.

“Yeah, and it’s going really fast and I don’t know where it’s going,” Hale said.

Wayne County Capt. Doug Hunter said the train was probably going around 45-60 mph while Hale and Slone were hanging on.

The dispatcher asked Hale why they were on a train, to which Hale responded, “It’s better than walking, it’s scaring the s—t out of us.”

The train was stopped after the dispatcher notified officials, and the train hoppers took off, but police eventually found them a mile away and arrested them.

“I thought it was going to stop in Willard and it didn’t, and I should have never got on the train,” Hale said in the back of a police cruiser. “I know it was a stupid idea and I never should have done it. I wasn’t going to and I never will again.”

The train hopper’s ability to make an emergency phone call while hanging on at those speeds shocked Hunter.

“The fact the person was able to call 911 while he’s hanging onto the side of a train in and of itself is very, very unusual,” Hunter said.

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