(The Associated Press distributed the following article on September 14.)
DE WITT, Iowa — A freight train struck and killed two boys Sunday as they were watching a train go by in the other direction, police said.
The boys, 12 and 13, were supposed to be swimming but instead walked along Union Pacific railroad tracks in De Witt, an eastern Iowa town about 20 miles from the Mississippi River. Their names were not released.
The train’s engineer followed emergency procedures but was unable to stop the train before it struck the boys, police said.
Earlier, a freight train crew reported some children were standing alongside the tracks throwing rocks at a train. Railroad dispatchers notified trains in the area, Union Pacific said.