June 30, 2007

This is a bad trend.


It seems as if stories like this one are becoming more frequent. On one hand, it does bring attention to the symptoms of low blood sugar for people who may not know the signs, and that's good. On the other hand, why does someone have to be dropped unwillingly into a life - threatening scenario for this kind of awareness to finally be brought to the forefront?



Police: Diabetic Man Missing After Being Kicked Off TrainPHOENIX -- A 65-year-old St. Louis man is missing after Amtrak personnel, mistaking his diabetic shock for drunk and disorderly behavior, kicked him off a train in the middle of a national forest, according to police in Williams, Ariz.

Police said Roosevelt Sims was headed to Los Angeles but was asked to leave the train shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday at a railroad crossing five miles outside Williams. "He was let off in the middle of a national forest, which is about 800,000 acres of beautiful pine trees," Lt. Mike Graham said.Police said there is no train station or running water at the crossing, which is about two miles from the nearest road, at an elevation of about 8,000 feet.Amtrak personnel told police dispatchers that Sims was drunk and unruly.The Sims family said Sims is diabetic and was going into shock.Sims' brother, Brian Mason, said his family tried to call Sims on his cell phone that night, but Sims was incoherent.When officers arrived at the crossing, police said, Sims ran into the woods, leaving his luggage and medication behind.Cell phone records show that Sims' phone was last used in Litchfield Park, Ariz., 180 miles from Williams.Williams police told CBS 5 that Amtrak has used the abandoned crossing as a drop-off site in the past. Graham said that whether drunk or not, no one should be dropped off there."You don't put anyone off in an area like that," Graham said.Amtrak said the company is looking into the matter."I just want to find him," Mason said. "I'm not mad at anybody.""I want to find a way to make sure he's OK," Mason added."Our thoughts and prayers are that there's no way he's out there in those woods," Graham said.UPDATE:Man missing after being thrown off Amtrak train located12 NewsJun. 28, 2007 11:29 PM A Coconino County Sheriff’s deputy has located Roosevelt Sims, the 65-year-old man aboard an Amtrak train who was ejected for appearing drunk and out of control about 5 miles outside of the city of Williams in Northern Arizona.Sims was diagnosed with diabetes just last week. His family says that explains his strange behavior on an Amtrak train, not intoxication. Sims was transported to Flagstaff Medical Center for observation and will be interviewed by police when cleared by medical staff. Other Amtrak passengers say Sims was left in a desolate area late Sunday night. Earlier, police spotted Sims shortly after he was asked to leave the train, but he ran away into the forest.


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