Motorcycle Cop Stops Runaway Locomotive

[MORTARDUDE]

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Motorcycle Cop Stops Runaway Locomotive

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A state police motorcycle officer jumped aboard a runaway locomotive Thursday afternoon and helped bring it safely to a halt.

No one was hurt as the locomotive rolled through rural neighborhoods, with officers racing from railroad crossing to railroad crossing to block traffic.

Eventually, Cpl. Duane Prescott managed to jump aboard the 400,000-pound Union Pacific locomotive, then pushed and pulled every control he could find.

"One of the handles said reverse so I grabbed it and shoved it into reverse and the train kind of slowed and started going the other way," Prescott said. "So I tried pushing it the other way to get it to jam up."

The engine started to back up, and railroad employees stopped it by placing ties across the tracks.

Police said the locomotive was reported loose and rolling downhill at about 40 mph in west Boise. Near Nampa, about 25 miles west of Boise, Prescott tried twice to jump aboard, making it the second time after the locomotive had slowed considerably.

The locomotive was halted in time to prevent it from crashing into another engine sitting on the tracks farther ahead.

Police are investigating how the engine broke loose.