BurlCo Boy Killed By Train Was Heading To Soccer Practice: Report

PALMYRA, NJ — A teen fatally struck Thursday by an NJ Transit light rail train was a Palmyra student-athlete, officials said.

A River Line train hit the boy Thursday morning at the Chestnut Street crossing in Palmyra, an NJ Transit spokesperson told Patch. He was 15 years old, local officials revealed.

The teen, whose name hasn't been released, was on his way to a soccer scrimmage, according to 6abc Action News.

"He was academically a great student, well-liked by all his friends," Mark Pease, Palmyra's interim superintendent, told Action News. "All his brothers have that energy that people just kind of draw to."

Palmyra High School is open for grief counseling from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Chestnut Street crossing is part of the River Line's above-ground pathway. It's near Palmyra High School, with athletic fields on both sides.

The Palmyra School District brings in NJ Transit each year to teach students about safely crossing the tracks. Palmyra Mayor Gina Tait told Action News that local officials and NJ Transit will hold a discussion to ensure the area is safe.

Borough officials expressed their condolences to those who knew the victim.

"Mayor Gina Ragomo Tait, the Members of Borough Council, our Police Department and other First Responders, and all Borough staff and volunteers, extend our deepest and most heartfelt prayers and sympathies to the family, their friends and neighbors, and his teachers, classmates and teammates alike," the borough said in a statement.

NJ Transit police are investigating the accident.