Boy’s death on train tracks deemed a ‘tragic accident’

SANTA CLARA » Authorities have ruled the recent death of a 5-year- old boy on the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Santa Clara a “tragic accident.”

The boy, identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner- Coroner’s Office as Leonardo Gianni Shiyanga-Ommani, was hit by an Amtrak train near Lafayette Street and Laurelwood Road on Saturday.

An investigation by the Santa Clara Police Department revealed that the boy had been playing in the fenced backyard of his home with both of his parents inside. He removed a couple of fence boards and made his way onto the train tracks without his parents’ knowledge.

“Based upon timelines, it appears that he was gone only minutes before he was spotted near the tracks by the first 911 caller,” police said in a news release Wednesday.

It was too late

Police dispatchers fielded multiple 911 calls about a boy running on the tracks at 4:19 p.m. Saturday. They notified Union Pacific Railroad to halt train services in the area, but not in time to prevent a northbound Amtrak train from hitting the boy as he ran southbound.

“Upon arrival,” police said, “the responding officers found the child to have been killed.”

The parents fully cooperated with the investigation and indicated the boy had special needs.

“The city of Santa Clara considers this to be a tragic accident that has deeply affected the family, witnesses, first responders and train personnel,” police said. “We call upon the wider Bay Area community to extend its sympathy and comfort to all those who have been affected.”

The Union Pacific Police Department is conducting a separate investigation into the accident.

Amtrak’s Capital Corridor trains in and out of San Jose, as well as one eastbound Altamont Corridor Express train headed for Stockton, were delayed for several hours.