An elementary school student was killed Monday when he apparently was struck by a freight train he couldn't hear because he was wearing stereo earphones, according to police.
Chief Doyle Talbot said the age and identity of the boy were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.He was hit by the train about 100 yards south of the Gentile Street-Union Pacific Railroad crossing about 7:25 a.m. Talbot said the boy was en route to the nearby Layton Elementary School when the accident occurred.
The victim was riding his bicycle but had dismounted to cross the tracks when he was hit. Talbot said the train engineer saw the youth and blasted the air horn and tried to stop the train.
"The boy had a headset on . . . He didn't look up until it was too late," Talbot said. "We don't know whether he froze on the tracks."
The southbound train was towing several freight cars and didn't have enough room to stop.