California IN BRIEF : LIVERMORE : 1 of 2 Boys Hit by Train Is Killed

A freight train struck two teen-age boys apparently playing “chicken” on the railroad tracks, killing one and seriously injuring the other, authorities said. The Union Pacific locomotive was traveling east at 50 m.p.h. when it struck the youths about 8 p.m. Saturday, the engineer told police. The engineer saw the teen-agers straddling one of the rails, waiting until the last second to get out of the way, said Officer Kevin Santin. They misjudged the speed of the nine-car train and were thrown nearly 40 feet. The engineer was able to stop the locomotive half a mile up the track. A 17-year-old youth was taken to Valley Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Santin said.