Reckless teens jump from moving trains

Reckless teens are dicing with death by jumping off moving trains on Tauranga's Chapel St rail bridge.
Several teenagers yesterday hurled themselves into the water from the top of a carriage of a moving freight train towing 35 wagons - a dangerous stunt that has horrified rail authorities.
One even did backflips. The teens openly admit what they are doing and say they get an addictive thrill from it.
An eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said she and her son were cycling along the waterfront from Fergusson Park about 3.30pm yesterday and saw two or three cars turning around, as a freight train had stopped.
The woman said as they waited near a tree she saw three teenagers standing on top of the loaded train wagons.
"I thought to myself 'what the hell are they doing up there' and saw them walking along, moving carefully down the carriages. Two were close beside each other but the third one behind them seemed more tentative than the other two in his movements, then suddenly the train starting moving again."
She said the first two teens leaped off the train and into the harbour - while they seemed cocky and confident, the other jumper appeared more sheepish about it.
"I thought to myself 'you better hurry up mate, or you'll end up falling or jumping into shallow water'.
"I said to my son 'that has got to be the single most stupidest thing I'm likely to see all year'. It's bloody stupid stuff, as the train wasn't going very fast but it jerked quite a bit as it moved off and the wagons were also moving from side to side, they could easily have slipped or tripped and fallen between the wagons.
"Jumping off the side of the bridge into the harbour is mild compared to this, it's just crazy."
Brands Men, 19, from Otumoetai, told the Bay of Plenty Times that when the freight train stopped as it was heading to the port yesterday mid-afternoon, he and his 17-year-old mate, who would only be known as "Smerk1", climbed up the ladder of the last carriage. They made their way to the middle and jumped, doing a "bomb" into the water.
Smerk1, aged 17, said he performed a backflip, and estimated he hurled himself from about 12m into the water below so he could get a big buzz.
Another two Otumoetai youths, aged 15 and 16, also said they jumped from the top of the train carriage - and said lots of people did it.
"It's nothing new," said one of youths, who spoke on condition he was not identified. The train driver would have had no idea, they said.
Brands Men and his mate said they had been jumping off moving trains "for years" and the elder of the two said he had no fears for his safety. He said jumping from a moving train into the water was an addictive thrill.
"You just want to do it again and again. I would have done a backflip if I knew how to do one."
Smerk1 said: "Heaps of people do it. It's nothing.
"The train wasn't going very fast probably about 5km/h."
One of the other two youths, who also refused to be identified, said he never thought about the risks of injury or death if he slipped or fell off the train.
When asked if he was worried about being prosecuted, Brands Men said: "No. They can put it on my tab."
One of the other jumpers said: "They's have to catch us first."
News of the stunt comes as railway safety is in the headlines. A train ploughed into a trailer being towed by a ute as it crossed the tracks south of Te Puke this week.
KiwiRail Network's acting general manager David Gordon said Kiwirail was disappointed to hear about what the teenagers were doing.
"This is very dangerous. Firstly they shouldn't be on the rail bridge. It is illegal and they could get hit by a moving train."
Mr Gordon also said that as the teens climbed up to jump, the stationary train could have started moving at any time - and it would jerk as it did so.
They could have lost their balance and fallen between the wagons.
The stunt was upsetting to Kiwirail staff as they did not want to see anyone hit or run over.
"We regularly warn the public to stay off the rail corridor. While the maximum fine for illegally trespassing on the rail corridor is $10,000, the maximum penalty is death," he said.
Thrillseekers are also regularly dicing with death jumping off the McLaren Falls bridge, something Brands Men and his mate were doing last week, and say they have done so many times over the years.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council communications manager Peter Hennessey said some jumpers were so determined to hurl themselves off the top of the bridge they were cutting holes in the wire netting to get there.
In 1995, a 20-year-old Whakatane man lost his life after jumping. Three months later a 15-year-old girl suffered a serious spinal injury, which led to safety wiring and warning signs being erected.