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Boy struck by freight train, loses leg, in Frankford

A juvenile male lost a leg when he was struck by a freight train Wednesday afternoon in the city's Frankford section.

File photo of CSX train.
File photo of CSX train.Read moreAP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

A 14-year-old boy had his leg severed when he was struck be a freight train Wednesday afternoon in the city's Frankford section, police said.

Shortly after 5:05 p.m., the boy was struck by a slow-moving southbound CSX train near the 3600 block of Castor Avenue, said Chief Inspector Scott Small. The boy was conscious when he was taken by medics to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where he was reported in critical condition.

The medics took the boy's severed leg with them to the hospital, Small said.

An engineer on another train witnessed the boy hopping away from the tracks on his remaining leg, Small said, adding that he did not know why the boy, who was with at least one friend and lives in the city, was in the track area.

The CSX train continued traveling south, likely unaware that someone was hit, Small said.

As a result of the police investigation of the scene, SEPTA's regional Trenton Line was suspended until around 6:30 p.m.