Train
Tragedy Awakens Pekin
By Brock Norman, Tim Pritchard, Ashley Hale, and Briana Clark 11-year-old boy Michael Buley is hospitalized since
losing both of his legs. On December 16, 2000, Michael and his brother
Chris, 7, were jumping off of a slow moving train by his house into piles
of snowdrifts. He fell between the wheels of the train. His legs were cut
off immediately. He’s at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois. He says
the food isn’t bad but he gets as much as he likes. He attends school at
the school in the hospital. He usually goes to school in Pekin at Wilson.
He says the school at the hospital isn’t bad. It’s just like the one I
go to except the tables are adjusted to your size. Michael receives his
assignments from Joan Flowers, who is an employee at District 150. He uses
his own books from his other school. Michael has received tons of cards
and flowers of friends and school friends. He got a Christmas tape of the
Christmas party that his class had. He watches it all the time. He started
physical therapy to strengthen his upper body. Connie, his mom, says
it is helping a little. He says he just wants to get out.
Our Views: I think Michael and his brother didn’t use
their best judgement I also think he’s lucky to be alive. Two legs are
a lot to loose but your life is a lot more. I think trains should have
alarms of some kind that would tell the engineers that someone is on the
train. If they had this, Michael would still have his legs.
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