Acampo man faces long road to recovery after train accident

Two weeks after an Acampo ranch butcher was critically injured when his truck was struck by a train, his condition is improving.

Mike McMahon, 48, was at one point comatose and doctors had told family members that it could be months before he would wake up. But he has since regained consciousness and has begun walking, though doctors have yet to say when he might be able to leave UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

"He faces a pretty strenuous task of physical therapy and retraining," said Stockton attorney Al Ellis, to whom the McMahon family referred calls.

Ellis said he will likely file a claim related to the collision, but said he does not yet know if that will lead to a lawsuit. Under California law, when someone wants to sue a public entity, the lawsuit is preceded by a claim.

"We feel there was negligence involved in the case and we're still investigating that," Ellis said, declining to say who could be named as negligent but that it could include property owners, the railroad and those responsible for maintaining the road.

On the afternoon of Jan. 12, McMahon was driving his 1999 Chevy 3500 truck south on Clay Station Road when he reached Twin Cities Road near Galt. He apparently didn't see an oncoming train, and the California Highway Patrol reported that his music prevented McMahon from hearing the train's horn.

The train struck the driver's side door of McMahon's truck, and he was flown by to the hospital by medical helicopter.

The rural intersection does not have a crossing arm and Ellis said that could have been a factor in the accident.

"It's a very confusing intersection because the stop sign is on the other side of the tracks so a person wouldn't normally be stopping before the tracks," he said.

A spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation said they do not have current data on that intersection because they have not studied it. Such studies may be triggered by requests from the public or law enforcement.

Until the crash, McMahon had worked for 30 years as a self-employed ranch butcher. Because he ran his own business, that has added to the family's hardship, Ellis said.

McMahon has an adult son, two daughters and two stepchildren. His youngest daughter is a toddler. His wife has stayed with him around the clock, and family members constantly visit.

He'll likely need intense physical therapy and retraining and faces a long road to recovery, Ellis said.

A close family friend, who declined to give his name, said McMahon focused on his family, doing everything coaching baseball to teaching his son about cars.

"The thing I admire most about him is the time he put into his children," the friend said. "They're going to turn around and say, 'Dad this is what you loved to do and what you taught us, so we're going to teach you.'"

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

First published: Saturday, January 27, 2007

Reader Feedback

me wrote on Jan 29, 2007 6:35 AM:

" I am not going to say who is wrong or not, but before you comment at all, I ask you to go see the site in which this happened, and take a look at the over grown trees which obstruct a person's view of a train traveling in the direction in which it did so the day mike was hit. "

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But wrote on Jan 28, 2007 9:34 AM:

" The man's son said it himself..they take this route all the time. So obviously he had to know there were tracks there and where they were located compared to the stop sign. "

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Ted. wrote on Jan 28, 2007 3:26 AM:

" I agree stop look and listen. Ted "

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long gone is wrong wrote on Jan 27, 2007 5:49 PM:

" I feel for the family but he needs to take responsible for his mistakes. Loud radio not stopping and looking befor crossing. Yep and Roger are right. This man deserves NO MONEY.. "

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LONG GONE wrote on Jan 27, 2007 4:17 PM:

" YEP...YOU MUST BE AS DUMB AS A BOX OF ROCKS, YOU DON'T READ STORIES TO THUROUGHLY EITHER. OTHERWISE YOU WOULD HAVE NOTED THAT THE STOP SIGN WAS ON THE OTHERSIDE OF THE TRACKS. GET A GRIP THE MAN IS SUFFERING AND DESERVES THE MONEY. "

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whoever wrote on Jan 27, 2007 4:14 PM:

" To be fair, that intersection is very confusing and the direction that the train was coming from is blind to south bound drivers.It's also a wide intersection which would lull someone into thinking that a main road like that would have arms. Alta Mesa, which is a similar road just West of Clay Station has arms. Any unmarked crossing is a danger, if for no other reason then the fact that people are trained to watch for crossing arms. "

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Yep wrote on Jan 27, 2007 2:53 PM:

" And now because he didn't do so, he is blaming someone else and filing a claim. MONEY MONEY MONEY he must be related to the Kloose's "

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Roger wrote on Jan 27, 2007 10:23 AM:

" Stop, Look, and Listen. So many people disregard their responsibilities for safety at railroad grade crossings. Visit operationlifesaver.com for information on grade crossing safety. "

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Acampo man faces long road to recovery after train accident

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