Teen dies playing chicken: A teen in the San Francisco Bay area has died after playing a game of “chicken” with an oncoming train, it was reported.
Austin Price, 15, of Hayward, Calif., was killed by a northbound Capitol Corridor train on Thursday when he did not get out of the way during the chicken game, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Two other boys were playing along with him and were not hurt, police said.
San Lorenzo High School Principal Tovi Scruggs said that many youths hang around the train tracks, which are located close to the school.
“It’s an ongoing concern,” she told the Chronicle. “Tragedies don’t happen frequently, but we know the tracks are not staying empty.”
She added that Price was a “sweet young man,” reported NBC News. “He got really good grades. He was well loved.”
Last week, his friends mourned his death, setting up a memorial by the train tracks where he died. They also placed a memorial at his locker.
Alameda County Sheriff’s Dep. April Luckett said that children from all over the community walk near the tracks on a daily basis.
“It’s very important that kids realize how dangerous the tracks are, that parents reiterate that to their children, that they need to stay off the tracks and don’t walk on the tracks for any reason, especially not to play games and not to take a shortcut home,” Luckett told ABC News.
The train was traveling from San Jose to Sacramento when the train struck the boy. None of the people on board were injured, according to NBC.
