SPANISH FORK, Utah (AP) — Authorities say a 5-year-old boy playing on railroad track near his Utah home has died after being hit by a freight train.

Police Lt. Matt Johnson says three young children were playing at the tracks in Spanish Fork on Sunday when the train passed at about 40 mph.

He says the boy's 7-year-old sister and a 7-year-old male cousin managed to jump to safety, but the younger child was struck.

The engineer of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotive says the youngster appeared to have "froze." The officer says the train didn't have time to stop.

Johnson says the child was rushed to a local hospital and then flown to one in Salt Lake City, 50 miles north, but he died from his injuries.

(Story by: The Associated Press)

 

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