A teenage boy suffered life-altering injuries when he was hit by a train Sunday afternoon.
The incident happened on Canadian National Railway tracks behind the 2400 block of Pembina Highway, near Bison Drive, at about 4:30 p.m.
The 16-year-old boy was transported to hospital in critical condition and later upgraded to stable.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Pedestrians walk across the rail line at Bison Drive and Pembina Highway where Winnipeg police say a 16-year-old male sustained life-altering injuries after being struck by a train late Sunday afternoon.
Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said the incident appeared to have been accidental.
“The victim was with some other individuals — they were in the area (of the tracks) when this unfortunate catastrophe occurred… it doesn’t appear to be purposeful,” said McKinnon.
She did not know what the group was doing or why they were near the rails, but McKinnon said people need to be safe near tracks.
“Whether you’re walking near tracks, whether you’re hanging out for whatever reason, socializing nearby, you have to remember that at the end of the day, a train cannot stop, even if it sees you and gives you the horn, it can’t stop,” McKinnon said.
“It can be life-altering, as we saw in this incident, but it can also be fatal.”
Winnipeg and CN police are still investigating, she said.