Times Staff Report

PORTAGE | A 25-year-old man lost part of a leg when he was struck by a train about 8:45 a.m. Saturday at the Willowcreek Road CSX crossing near Woodland Park, authorities said.

The Portage Fire Department said it could not release the man's name; calls Saturday night to Portage police spokesmen were not returned.

Firefighters said they arrived within four minutes of the call and found a pedestrian hit by the train and suffering from a serious lower leg injury. Because of the nature of the call, the department already had requested a medical helicopter.

Firefighters simultaneously cared for the man and prepared a landing site in a cul-de-sac near 5900 Carlson on the city's north side.

The Fire Department took the man to the landing site for pickup by a University of Chicago Aeromedical Network helicopter, which arrived within 30 minutes of the original dispatch call.

The man was transferred to the care of the flight doctor and nurses and flown to the trauma center at St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Olympia Fields, Ill.

The accident remains under investigation by Portage fire and police officials. Further information was not available Saturday night.