UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Man dragged by train calls 911

TORONTO, July 13 (UPI) -- A Canadian man managed to call 911 on his cellphone as he was being dragged by a moving train in Toronto's West End, authorities said.

The man told police he had been drinking with friends in a parked container car when it began to move and his leg slipped through an opening and was dragged along the ground, The Toronto Star reported Monday.

The train dragged the man for nearly 3 miles, partially severing his foot, before police could stop the train and free the man, Toronto police Sgt. Tim Burrows told the Star.

The man, in his 20s, was hospitalized in serious but stable condition

"Trespassing, leading to misadventure, leading to ouch!" Burrows said.

Saudi Arabian family sues genie

MEDINA, Saudi Arabia, July 13 (UPI) -- A family in Saudi Arabia has filed a lawsuit alleging theft and harassment on the part of a malevolent genie.

Officials with the Islamic Shariah court said the family alleges a genie has been leaving them threatening voice mail messages, stealing their cell phones and throwing rocks at them outside their home, CNN reported Monday.

"We have to verify the truthfulness of this case despite the difficulty of doing so," court head Sheik Amr al-Salmi, told the al-Watan newspaper. "What makes this case and complaint more interesting is that it wasn't filed by just one person. Every member of the family is part of this case."

The head of the family, who asked not to be named, said the family has occupied their home on the outskirts of Medina for 15 years and first became aware of the genie about two years ago.

"We began hearing strange noises," he said. "In the beginning, we didn't take it seriously, but after that, stranger things started happening and the children got really scared when the genie began throwing stones."

The family has been given temporary lodgings by a local charity while the court investigates the allegations.

Boy, 3, floated river in toy truck

FORT ST. JOHN, British Columbia, July 13 (UPI) -- Canadian authorities say a 3-year-old boy who drove his toy truck into the Peace River floated several miles before being rescued.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Greg Nardi of Fort St. John said the boy was camping with his parents when he rode off in his battery-powered toy truck about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, The Province of Vancouver, British Columbia, reported Monday.

Nardi said a boater reported seeing the boy and his truck floating in the river about 7 1/2 miles from the camp site about 2 1/2 hours later.

"Everybody was a little frantic at the time," Nardi said. "I was surprised that the truck was floating at all."

Nardi said the toddler appeared to be in good shape, though the constable and his partner drove him to a hospital to be checked out.

"I think he was more excited about being in a police car (than he was about his rescue)," Nardi said.

Police: Robber tried to get ride with cop

SAGINAW, Mich., July 13 (UPI) -- Police in Michigan said a man who allegedly tried to rob a bank was arrested while trying to hitch a ride with an undercover officer.

Investigators said Mark White, 50, waved down Saginaw Township Detective Scott Jackson of the auto theft division Wednesday about two blocks from the Citizen's Bank location he allegedly tried to rob approximately five minutes earlier, the Saginaw News reported Monday.

Jackson slowed his car to allow patrol officer Ian Wegner to catch up and provide backup and White allegedly tried to flee after Jackson identified himself as police. Wegner chased down and apprehended White, who had been released from prison just over three weeks earlier on a 15-month to 10-year sentence for a third offense of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and violating a previous parole.

White was charged with bank robbery, making a false bomb threat, attempted carjacking, assault with intent to commit a felony and assault and resisting a police officer. He was taken to the Saginaw County Jail in lieu of $755,000 bond.