Train Decapitates Boy on Trestle
An 11-year-old boy who was fishing with companions off a railroad bridge in Pico Rivera was decapitated by a passing freight train Saturday as he tried to race to safety.
The 3,600-foot-long freight had come out of a sharp curve near Whittier Boulevard about 1:40 p.m. and was about to cross the bridge over the San Gabriel River when the engineer spotted the six youngsters on the trestle.
The railroad man was unable to stop the train and frantically blew his air horn to warn the children.
“Five of the kids hung off the side of the bridge,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Merrill said, “but the 11-year-old took off running and didn’t quite make it to the end of the bridge.”
The name of the boy was withheld pending notice of next of kin.
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