Railroad official doubts train passed over drunk teen

DES MOINES (AP) ? An Iowa Interstate Railroad official doubts a train passed over a teenager in downtown Des Moines who was passed out between the rails, leaving him with only minor injuries.

Mick Burkart, the railroad?s chief operating officer, says there is about 10 inches of clearance between a locomotive and railroad ties. That?s little space for someone to lie safely beneath the rails.

However, 17-year-old Christian Michael Latshaw told police that?s what happened Sunday night. He says he was drunk and passed out, only to awake under the train.

Train engineers saw someone on the tracks but couldn?t see what happened.

Burkart told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday it?s more likely Latshaw stood up and was knocked clear of the train.

Latshaw was treated for head cuts and a thigh bruise.