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