BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- A man sat down on railroad tracks and was struck by a train early Tuesday -- just nine days after a Middletown man died in a similar incident, authorities said.
In Tuesday's incident, the victim, William Scott Anderson, 28, suffered the loss of a leg. Mr. Anderson was listed in serious condition in the intensive care unit of Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Police smelled "a strong odor of alcohol" on Mr. Anderson, said Sgt. Dan Pratt, Hamilton police spokesman.
Last week, Butler County Coroner Dr. Richard P. Burkhardt ruled the July 19 death of Kenneth McFarland, 37, of Middletown, was accidental. Tests showed Mr. McFarland's blood-alcohol level was higher than 0.30 percent -- more than triple Ohio's intoxication limit -- at the time he was struck by a train in the 600 block of North University Drive in Middletown.
He reportedly had been seen sitting on the railroad tracks. Just after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Norfolk & Southern train struck Mr. Anderson. The engineer reported seeing Mr. Anderson sitting on the tracks, apparently asleep or passed out, Sgt. Pratt said. The train's engineer sounded his whistle and applied an emergency brake in an unsuccessful attempt to stop. The train, which weighed more than 4,600 tons, traveled 345 feet after striking Mr. Anderson, Sgt. Pratt said.
