Teen listening to music is hit by train in Pleasant Prairie

PLEASANT PRAIRIE -- A 16-year-old was walking on the train tracks in Pleasant Prairie Friday morning on his way to school. Police say he had just left his home and was south of the Highway 50 overpass when an engineer on an Amtrak train saw the teen in the train's path.

Pleasant Prairie Interim Police Chief David Mogensen said the engineer tried to alert the teen, "He saw it from quite a distance down the road, down the track. He tried to sound the horn, tried to alert him but he wouldn't hear it, wouldn't turn around."

What made the train difficult to hear, the 16-year-old had earbuds in his ears and was listening to music.  Mogensen said, "At the last second, he did turn and tried to get out of the way, but it was not in time."  Mogensen said the teen's injuries were focused on the right side of his body. The train's engineer called 911 and when paramedics arrived, the teen was alert and responding.

The teen was taken to Children's Hospital in Wauwatosa where he was listed in stable condition. The train was delayed about two hours, but no passengers on the train were injured.