CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / FRESNO

The coroner’s office Friday identified a 13-year-old boy who was killed after he tried to outrun a freight train.

Stacy Frierson of Fresno was tossed about 20 yards when a freight train traveling 60 mph struck him Thursday, said Lt. Gregg Sanders of the Fresno Police Department.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, Sanders said. An autopsy was pending, a Fresno coroner’s official said.

Stacy was in a group of 4 to 5 children who were running south on Fruit Avenue near Ashland Avenue. As a train approached, several of the boys stopped but Stacy continued, Sanders said. The guardrails and the lights that warn drivers and pedestrians of an approaching train were working at the time, authorities said.

A police chaplain was called to the scene when the boy’s father showed up to see his son.

Crisis counselors were sent Friday morning to Fresno Middle School, where Stacy was a student. Sanders said this was the second time someone in the area had been struck by a train. The other incident occurred three years ago.

-- Ruben Vives