A man police believe was intoxicated at the time rode his bicycle into a train Tuesday in Warsaw.
At approximately 3:18 p.m. Tuesday, Warsaw Police and EMS responded to an incident involving a man on a bicycle riding into a northbound train in the area of Winona Avenue, according to a WPD news release.
Responding officers identified the man as Ronald R. Spaulding, 53, Warsaw. He was found to be conscious and breathing.
An incident report states Spaulding was lying in the rocks on the west side of the tracks, just to the south of Winona Avenue. He was not talking, but was making noises. He had lacerations on his face, the top of his head and hands.
Spaulding was not cooperating with EMS and fire while they were trying to treat him.
Witnesses to the accident said they saw Spaulding pull out of a gravel lot just west of the tracks and attempt to cross the tracks before the train reached Winona Avenue. Witnesses also said the train’s horn was blowing, the signal was flashing and the bell was ringing, the news release states.
The report says witnesses saw Spaulding started pedaling fast toward the train. When he got to the train, Spaulding struck the first car after the three engines had passed.
Spaulding was said to have ridden his bicycle into the side of the train, falling on the ground on the west side of the tracks.
When witnesses went to help Spaulding, they could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from him.
Spaulding was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospi-tal by Lutheran EMS and later transferred to Fort Wayne Lutheran due to injuries suffered from the collision, the release states. The incident report states Spaulding had a skull fracture and brain bleeding.
Police believe alcohol to be a factor and public intoxication charges are pending.
