Vigil held for Clearfield teen hit and killed by FrontRunner train

CLEARFIELD — Hundreds of students walked down Lakeview Drive Thursday night, holding candles and shouting "JJ" over and over again in memory of a 14-year-old boy who was hit and killed by a FrontRunner train earlier that day.

Police did not release the boy's name, but those attending a vigil in his honor said the victim was JJ Reyes, a student at North Davis Junior High in Clearfield.

The students gathered around a makeshift memorial near the site of the accident, crying as they placed balloons and candles on a pile of rocks there.

"He had the cutest smile on his face," said Haylee Osuna, an eighth-grader at North Davis Junior High who said she was in a class with JJ.

"It's going to be so different," Osuna said. "JJ made school fun for everyone."

The accident happened about 7:30 a.m. Thursday along the southbound FrontRunner line near the Center Street bridge in Clearfield. Utah Transit Authority spokesman Gerry Carpenter said the accident was away from any rail crossing or stop. The train, in the area where the accident occurred, would have been going about 80 mph at that time, he said.

Clearfield Police Chief Greg Krusi said it appears the boy climbed under a chain-link fence on the east side of the track.

Police did not immediately release his name, because they couldn't identify the remains until DNA tests were performed, the chief said. The accident scene stretched for about 225 yards.

School-related books were located near the accident scene, but the track is not on the teen's route from school or home.

Deseret News employee Josh Ferrin was on the train when the accident occurred. He thought the train had hit either a chunk of ice or piece of metal.

"It was loud," he said. "There was a tremendous clattering sound."

The accident happened in a stretch of track that goes near a residential area, he said. There are no stops or crossings in the area.

After the accident, a FrontRunner employee came through the cars and asked passengers if they had seen anything.

"She said, 'We definitely hit something. We're not going anywhere for a while,' " Ferrin said.

The train slowly came to a stop and stood still for about 15 minutes before pulling into the next stop, the Clearfield Station, which was still a few minutes away, he said.

Few details were available about the accident Thursday morning, but Krusi said it appears that the train's driver did not see the pedestrian until impact.

FrontRunner service was stopped between Roy and Clearfield. Buses were brought in to transport passengers between those two train stops until the accident was cleared.

The FrontRunner driver will receive a mandatory drug and alcohol test, and counseling will be provided, Carpenter said. He reminded the public to take safety precautions whenever they are around train tracks. Even using emergency brakes, it still takes a FrontRunner train a mile to stop going at that speed, he said.

Contributing: Lana Groves; Josh Smith

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com