5-year-old playing on tracks hit, killed by train in Utah

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

Police spokesman Lt. Matt Johnson says three young children were playing at the tracks in Spanish Fork late Sunday afternoon when freight 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.

He says that 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.

The children had been playing at their nearby apartment complex playground before moving on to the tracks.

Amanda Larson told CBS affiliate KUTV that she and another witness began searching the area around the tracks after other children said that they couldn't find boy.

"We all saw some shoes. I think one was on our side and one was on [the other witness's] side, and he just started to scream, 'Call 911,'" Larson said. "We climbed over the train and found him in a ditch, face-down in some water."