Boy Suffers Leg Injury After Train Hits Him

A 13-year-old Fullerton boy wearing stereo headphones and walking on the railroad tracks was struck by a MetroLink train Monday, but suffered only a fractured leg, police said.

The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, managed to leap away at the last moment, but the train hit his leg, Fullerton Police Sgt. Joe Klein said. “He was very, very fortunate,” he said. “He was able to get out of the way at the last possible second.”

The boy was knocked into a ditch near Independence Park of Fullerton, Klein said. He was taken to UCI Medical Center for treatment, but the injuries are not considered life-threatening, Klein said.

The boy had been walking east on the tracks at 3:24 p.m. and had just passed Woods Avenue when the train approached at about 60 mph and sounded its horn, said Thomas Y. Wong, a MetroLink transportation manager at the scene. The boy apparently did not hear the horn because of the headphones, but “he felt the vibrations and turned at the last second,” Wong said. “He was very lucky.”

Wong said the boy had just walked past a “No Trespassing” sign posted along the tracks because of the constant danger of passing trains.

Three main tracks run through the area near the park west of the Fullerton station. They are used by Amtrak, freight trains and MetroLink commuter trains, Wong said.

“This is no place to play, and no place to look for a short cut,” Wong said.