EXCLUSIVE!

UPDATE FROM FAMILY

OF BETHESDA WOMAN

WHO SURVIVED BEING

HIT BY TRAIN

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Good news for those who were concerned about Anika Manzoor, Bethesda resident and student at Grinnell College, who was struck by a freight train in Iowa. Manzoor is making a full recovery from her minor injuries, and will be returning to school next week.

Her father, Manzoor Hossain, posted an update here on Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row, and wanted all who expressed concern to know the family appreciated their prayers and well wishes:

"Ms. Manzoor is spending Spring Break with her parents in Bethesda and Kensington. She plans to go back to school April 02. We are happy to report that she is on her way to making a full recovery from her injuries (a simple fracture and a few cuts and bruises). She fully understands and accepts the fact that the momentary lapse of judgement on that fateful afternoon could have led to a greater tragedy. We all are very thankful to everybody for their prayers and best wishes."

-Manzoor Hossain (father)

Fabulous news! All of us make mistakes, it is a normal part of life. As someone said, if you're not making mistakes, you're not doing anything. But I believe everything happens for a reason, and something good has come out of this: Although this was not a pleasant experience for her, Anika Manzoor may have saved lives, by making young people more aware about railroad safety. So there are two positive endings to this story.

Best wishes to the Manzoor family.

MIRACLE:

BETHESDA WOMAN

SURVIVES BEING HIT

BY TRAIN WITH NO

LIFE-THREATENING

INJURIES

Grinnell College Student Said to Have Attempted to

Outrace Iowa Freight Train

A miraculous ending to a dangerous act is being reported from near Des Moines Iowa tonight.

Anika Manzoor, a 20 year old Bethesda resident attending Grinnell College in Iowa, is reported to have tried to cross in front of an oncoming Iowa Interstate freight train Monday afternoon.

According to Tom Alex, reporter for the Des Moines Register, Manzoor's two friends made it across, but Manzoor slipped and fell in front of the train.

Unbelievably, she was swept aside by a snowplow attachment on the locomotive, and was transported to the University of Iowa hospital, where she remains with non-life-threatening injuries.

We don't yet know Manzoor's side of the story, so it is premature to pass judgement.

However, thankfully this is a good reminder for people about respecting the rules of railroad safety without a tragic ending.

Never walk on railroad tracks. Stop, look and listen before crossing tracks on foot or by car. Never try to "beat the train."

In this time when folks move near railroads and then complain that there are trains passing through (Garrett Park, Randolph Hills, Kensington - the B&O was there long before they were), the rules of coexisting with the railroads that keep America running are more relevant than ever.