Parents question Amtrak account of son’s injuries

The parents of a 22-year-old train passenger from Hawaii who is hospitalized in a coma in Reno, Nev., are disputing Amtrak’s suggestion that his injuries resulted from an attempted suicide.

Portland State University economics major Aaron Salazar, a 2015 Kaiser High School graduate, was traveling on an Amtrak train from Denver to Portland, Ore., before he was found unconscious May 15 near train tracks in Truckee, Calif. He had numerous injuries including to his brain stem, ribs and abdomen, and a spinal fracture and broken pelvis and nose.

Amtrak Police Chief Neil Trugman said Tuesday in a videotaped news conference, which the Star-Advertiser reviewed, that he could not comment on Salazar’s medical condition, but “a fall from a moving train would cause significant injury.”

Trugman said Salazar interacted with passengers, crew and friends, who said “he shared with them a number of life concerns and challenges he was having.” He added a rail foreman saw an Amtrak train go by with an open coach window before arriving in Truckee at 9:30 a.m. Salazar was found at 11:10 a.m. between Truckee and Reno, police said.

Trugman said there is no evidence that an altercation occurred on the train or that Salazar was involuntarily removed.

“From the very start, they ruled this case an attempted suicide,” said Salazar’s parents, Damion Salazar and Angie Barnett, in a statement. “Their investigators gave us misleading information, including telling us that they had a witness who saw Aaron jump out a window on the train.

“When we fact-checked their claim and confronted the detective, he simply backpedaled his statement. Amtrak’s investigators only investigated the case as an attempt at suicide.”

Salazar’s family said he is gay and that they suspect he is the victim of a hate crime. They said there were burns on his thighs and groin area but no burn marks on his jeans — an indication to them that those injuries were not caused by a fall from the train.

Salazar had texted his grandmother in Hawaii at 9:06 a.m. May 15 that he was getting off the train in Sacramento with a friend he met on the train to explore the area, according to a cousin.

Truckee Police Chief Robert Leftwich said nothing suggests he reached the Truckee station and disembarked in a normal manner. Truckee police said he was found 4 miles east of town, in an area without vehicle or pedestrian access points.

The Amtrak Police Department is the lead agency in the investigation. Truckee police deferred to Amtrak, turning over the case upon learning Salazar was a passenger.

His parents question that decision, saying, “Amtrak is a for-profit company that is currently investigating its own case to prevent liability.”