Family: Man hit by train in Donegal Township was attempting to hitch ride
Tim McCullough was aiming to hop aboard the slow-moving train when he fell backward from an overpass in Donegal Township and was run over by the locomotive, his mother said in a Friday, June 20, interview.
Tina Brothers, of Butler County, said her son is adamant he did not attempt suicide, as initially reported in a police report. She described how McCullough looked at her with “crazy eyes,” shook his head no and motioned with his arm how he fell backward off the overpass when questioned at Allegheny General Hospital earlier this week.
Since the Monday incident, McCullough, 30, has remained heavily sedated and unable to speak, on a ventilator. He sustained a brain bleed, a liver laceration and a broken back, neck and leg in the fall, according to his mother.
“They told me this is a day-by-day situation,” Brothers said.
She has stayed by her son’s side at the Pittsburgh hospital, praying and asking others for prayers, since she learned he was hit by a train, two days after the incident.
“When he wakes up, I want him to see someone is there and someone loves him,” Brothers said.
The Chicora and Bruin fire departments and Karns City Regional Ambulance Service responded to the initial call around 11:45 a.m. Monday near 1060 Gameland Road. In a Wednesday news release, state police called the incident a suicide attempt.
Emergency responders were still on the ground around 12:30 p.m., according to the county emergency dispatch reports. A medical helicopter was off the ground and taking the man to Allegheny General Hospital by 12:55 p.m.
Brothers said she’s looking to identify the person who gave McCullough CPR for eight minutes until he started breathing again.
Brothers said she does not have the entire story yet because of her son’s condition, but he motions and draws letters on her hand through the pain when the doctors reduce his pain medication.
Brothers asked for only one thing for her son — prayers.
“He squeezed my hand hard enough that it hurt,” Brothers said. “He knows what’s going on. Thank God, he’s here mentally.”
However, Brothers said that when her other son Tom visited Thursday, he fainted when he saw his brother’s condition and needed emergency room care.
The two brothers commonly jump on the train as it goes by. Brothers said she initially scolded the boys for it before they showed her a video of the train’s slow speed.
McCullough was having surgery for his liver laceration Friday, which will allow doctors to assess the scope of his liver damage, remove damaged parts and attempt to close his stomach. Brothers said a team of 30 doctors are working on her son’s care.
“God has gotten me through this,” Brothers said. “I give all the credit to him and these wonderful people.”
Next week, he’ll undergo surgery again to place rods in his back and spine. Brothers said the doctors haven’t told her the surgery day or what will come next.
“Besides losing my husband, this is the worst thing I’ve ever been through,” Brothers said.
