Small child struck and killed by train after wandering onto railroad tracks

The accident occurred at about 4:19 p.m. in Santa Clara, California.

November 17, 2019, 1:19 AM

A small boy who wandered onto railroad tracks has been struck and killed by an Amtrak train.

The accident occurred at about 4:19 p.m. on the Union Pacific tracks in Santa Clara, California when the “very young minor” somehow got onto the railroad tracks and was hit, according to ABC's San Francisco station KGO-TV.

The Santa Clara Police and Fire departments are on the scene and currently conducting an investigation alongside Amtrak Police as to how and why the boy was on the tracks when he was. Police stress that this was an accident and not a deliberate act.

Passenger trains operated by Amtrak and the Altamont Corridor Express have been delayed as a result of the accident and the investigation surrounding the circumstances.

Authorities have not provided the child’s age but have confirmed that the boy involved is a “very young minor.”