The two girls had a sleepover the night before and possibly were so tired, the whistle didn't wake them.

LEBANON —Two teenage girls who were struck by a train and seriously injured had a sleepover the night before the accident, which investigators say might explain why they didn't move off the tracks as the train approached:

They could have been asleep.

"It might explain why they were so tired," York County Sheriff's Lt. Gary Fecteau said Thursday.

The girls got up late and told a parent that they planned to get a ride to school, Fecteau said. Instead, they walked to the tracks near Milton Three Ponds, where Lebanon borders Milton, N.H.

The girls were lying on the tracks and did not move when the slow-moving train blew its whistle repeatedly as it approached around 10:40 a.m. on its daily run between Dover, N.H., and Ossippee, N.H.

The train severed one of Destiny Phaneuf's legs just below the knee and severed one of Rachel Brown's feet. Phaneuf, 13, remained in critical condition Thursday, and Brown, 14, was upgraded to satisfactory, said a spokeswoman at Maine Medical Center.

Brown, who was conscious when emergency personnel arrived, told them that they had been sunbathing, Fecteau said.

At Noble Middle School, where the girls are about to graduate from 8th grade, students were given the opportunity to meet with counselors Thursday. Principal Dan Baker said the school put out an automated phone call to parents Wednesday night informing them of the accident.

"I think we had a fairly calm day," Baker said. "I count us as very fortunate that the girls are doing better. The news is heading in the right direction."

Although they have yet to interview either of the girls directly, investigators have ruled out several scenarios, Fecteau said. There was no evidence of any drug or alcohol use by the girls, and no evidence that they intentionally stayed on the tracks, he said.

The hospital ran standard blood tests, which as of Thursday did not indicate anything unusual. Fecteau said the hospital would inform officials if drug or alcohol tests were positive.

Many details of the case remain unknown, he said, because "until we talk to them, we just don't know." Fecteau said police hoped to talk to the girls by this weekend.

On the morning of the accident, as the girls made their way to the tracks, the school and at least one of the girl's parents were aware that something wasn't right.

Superintendent Paul Andrade said the school noted the teens' absence and planned to telephone their parents, as they always do when students are absent. The calls had not gone out when the accident happened.

"One of the girls' parents actually called to ask if their daughter was at school, and we told them she was absent," Andrade said.

Baker described Phaneuf and Brown as outgoing and popular -- and best friends during their time at Noble Middle School. The two are scheduled to graduate and move on to Noble High School.

"They are both really nice kids," he said, describing how they eat breakfast together at the school every day. "They could be sisters."

Baker said groups of students were taking advantage of the three counselors available on Thursday, but he didn't plan any special safety or educational programs in the wake of the accident.

"Those girls paid a terrible price for something many of us have done," he said. "I think all the kids will draw the correct conclusion anyway."

Calls to Phaneuf's father were not returned Thursday.

Doctors at Maine Med declined to discuss any specifics of the girls' conditions or medical diagnoses. A spokeswoman with a national amputee coalition said the two girls will face a physical and emotional recovery.

"It all depends on how well they recover from surgery, how positive they are about it and how much they want to do it," said Paddy Rossbach, CEO of the Amputee Coalition of America.

Rossbach, a registered nurse, lost a leg in an accident many years ago. "They will have each other, as sort of companions, which might turn out to be good thing," she said.

Rossbach has worked for years with teenagers who have lost limbs. Physically, she said, it's easier for younger people to adjust to using a prosthetic leg. Emotionally, the loss of limbs can be difficult for teens.

"They're just trying to find themselves," Rossbach said, "and all of a sudden, the self that they thought they were has drastically changed."

The coalition is a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization for individuals with limb loss. It encourages and helps arrange peer visitations with other amputees living nearby, so that people dealing with amputation can talk with individuals in a similar situation.

"It's important that they are able to talk to someone, so they understand it's going to take time, but they're going to be able to do the things that they did before," she said.

Anne Gleason contributed to this report.

Staff Writer Noel K. Gallagher can be contacted at 282-8226 or at: ngallagher@pressherald.com