DEVELOPING: Child Hit, Killed by Train in Jackson County

JEFFERSON- A 17 year old male was hit and killed this morning by a train in Jackson County. Jefferson police chief Joe Wirthman says he was a student at Jefferson High School, and Wirthman speculates he was on his way to school.

The police say they  think he was listening to music. They found the victim’s phone still working at the scene with music playing, but haven’t found headphones. He says they might be under the train. Wirthman says that in the 9 years he has worked at the Jefferson police department, he hasn’t seen anything like it.

He remarks, “This is a community that will come together with their grief. It was a horrific accident. They will grieve for the family and the child.”

Wirthman says it is criminal trespassing to walk on the tracks, and they’ve tried warning kids in the community in the past rather than taking punitive action.

The police haven’t been able to get in touch with the family, so the victim’s name hasn’t been released yet.