BEAVERTON – Video footage shows that a 21-year-old who survives being run over by a MAX train was actually kicked into the path of the train by his friend after an impromptu wrestling match.
The video shows Keoki Rosimo and one of his friends wrestling on the platform and, just as the train prepares to leave, the friend executing a jump kick that sends Rosimo backward onto the tracks.
One of Rosimo's friends dives toward him before being pulled back by a third friend as the train approached.
The men can then be seen in another camera view pulling Rosimo up from the tracks after the train's two cars passed over him.
Rosimo and three friends exited a TriMet MAX light-rail train at the Sunset Transit Center around 1 a.m.
They had spent the night celebrating Rosimo's 21st birthday in downtown Portland.
Rosimo suffered only an undisclosed foot injury and was transported to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
"This young man is very, very lucky," said TriMet spokesperson Bekki Witt.
Witt said several factors played into Rosimo avoiding more seriously injury.
The train that went over him is a newer model introduced in August on which the outer skirt of the train is a couple of inches higher than on old trains.
But Rosimo's real saving grace, Witt said, may have had more to do with the track than the train.
The tracks at the Sunset Transit Center lay in a bed of gravel and are raised higher than in other parts of the system.
If the tracks were in pavement, as they are in downtown Portland, Witt said, Rosimo wouldn't have had any spare room.
The wrestling was characterized by Beaverton police Det. Pam Yazzolino as "playfully horsing around."
According to the police report, the train operator reportedly had been watching the group in his rear- and side-view mirrors, but did not see them move to the front of the train or see Rosimo fall into the train's path.
Rosimo couldn't be reached for comment.
But one of his friends, Adam Ditter, 21, said he was home for the holidays from college and helped celebrate Rosimo's birthday.
He said he was texting another friend and was away from the group both on the MAX and when the friends disembarked.
He said his eyes were focused on the screen of his cell phone when he heard a scream.
As the train left, he saw Rosimo on the tracks and ran to make sure Rosimo was still breathing, he said.
The other two men in the party, Matthew Edwards, 23, and Stockton Spooner, 21, stayed with Rosimo, Ditter said.
"They were right next to him, supporting him as much as possible," Ditter said.
He said the friends had been drinking, but were "just having a good time" and not "belligerent" or "blacked out."
It is unclear why the MAX driver, 39-year-old Corey Jimerfield did not see Rosimo fall in front of the train, or how much time he would have had to react.
Witt said the driver, a 14-year veteran of TriMet, was taken off his shift at the next stop, but has since returned to duty.
She said operators at the helm when a train actually hits someone are usually placed on leave and offered counseling.
Jimerfield could not be reached for comment, but Witt said he had fulfilled his responsibilities as an operator.
She said he checked all of his mirrors and signals. Jimerfield was looking forward at the track, which curves left, Witt said, away from where the men were on the platform.
