Police crack down after man seriously injured from jumping Simi Valley railroad tracks

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Simi Valley police are cracking down after a man's plan to jump railroad tracks on his motorcycle ended with him being transported to the hospital in a serious, but not life-threatening condition.

There's a history of people jumping over Simi Valley tracks with success, but the young man tried this trick with no train beneath him and he crashed.

He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Police say he's lucky his condition wasn't more serious.

"One of our officers actually stopped this gentlemen with a friend while they were trying to groom the ramp so to speak and told them to not be here and not attempt it," said Simi Valley police commander, Robert Arabian.

"They came back on Sunday and decided to try it. Now the motorcyclist, as predicted, did not make the jump."

Stunts similar to this one have become very popular on YouTube. Police in Simi Valley say it's become a serious problem with painful consequences.

"We're here to make a point that this is unsafe. It's extremely stupid and someone is going to get hurt," Arabian said. "If they do it over a moving train, they'll have a lot of victims on that train as well."

In the past, those who got caught would be cited for a traffic ticket or misdemeanor. Simi Valley police are now going after these thrill seekers with a felony.

"We are going to start holding accountable the people that conspire -- and I use that term, it's a legal term -- engaging in a conspiracy to commit another crime is a felony crime," Arabian said.

The man who failed at making the jump has been identified by police as 22-year-old Andrew Flores of Canoga Park.

Police said he suffered broken bones in one leg and may be facing felony charges.