PSU student, whose family claims was hate victim, disputes he jumped from train

A Portland State University student found injured and unconscious last spring near a remote stretch of railroad tracks in Northern California says he did not attempt suicide from a moving train, challenging the repeated claims of Amtrak officials.

"I would never, ever try to kill myself," Aaron Salazar said in a Facebook video published last week.

"Aaron is a person of color who also identifies as gay, and his injuries suggest that this incident may have been a hate crime against him," members of Oregon's congressional delegation wrote to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson in May.

The letter was signed by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici.