13-year-old boy fatally struck by GO train identified by family and friends

CTV News has learned the name of the boy fatally struck by a Go train was Leandro Santos. Santos’ uncle spoke to the media about the tragedy.

Throughout the day, residents in a Mississauga neighbourhood have been dropping flowers at a makeshift memorial right next to a crossing where a 13-year-old boy was fatally struck by a GO train on Wednesday.

Family and friends have identified the boy as Leandro Santos.

The victim’s uncle was emotional when he stopped by the memorial on Alexandra Avenue.

Speaking in Portuguese, he said the incident has left the family heartbroken.

“Right now, we’re not in the right mind to think of anything. It’s not easy. Right now, our hearts are broken,” he said, breaking down in tears.

He shared that the boy’s mother is in the hospital and other family members are on the way from Portugal.

Russ Staples says he had seen the boy, who lived two doors down from him, “buzzing around all the time” while riding his gas-powered bike.

“Everybody’s in shock,” he said.

Staples had been concerned the boy might get hit by a car, but he said, “I never dreamed this would happen.”

Seeing the stopped train and people gathering near the crossing on Wednesday afternoon, Staples said he knew it was the boy.

“I thought that’s got to be him because I don’t see any other kids going around the neighbourhood on a little bike like that,” he said.

Staples was among the residents who laid flowers at the memorial on Thursday.

“Just to show that we were thinking about him,” he said.

Police were called to scene at approximately 2:45 p.m.

Const. Tyler Bell said the victim and another “young child” were on some type of motorized bike when they crossed the barrier to the train tracks. He said the warning signals were working, noting the gate was down, lights were flashing, and bells were ringing as the train approached.

They were not accompanied by an adult.

Shubham Shubham lives across the crossing and recounted hearing a loud train horn just before the collision.

When he came out of the house, Shubham said he saw one child screaming. Paramedics shortly arrived and performed life-saving measures on the child.

“It was very terrifying,” he said.

In a statement published on social media Thursday, Premier Doug Ford said he was “very sad to hear” of the boy’s death.

“My sincere condolences go out to his family and loved ones,” he wrote.

A ‘sobering reminder’ of ‘how dangerous trains are’: Metrolinx

Metrolinx, which operates GO Transit, issued a statement Thursday calling the incident tragic while extending its condolences to the family and loved ones of the boy who was killed.

“While the details of the incident are still under investigation by Peel Regional Police, this is an important and sobering reminder of the importance of rail safety and how dangerous trains are,” they said.

Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said in an interview with CP24 that it’s been a tough day for everybody at the agency.

“I want to offer the condolences, both for myself and everybody at Metrolinx, to the family of this young man who was killed yesterday, and indeed, I want to offer my sympathy to all of the operators and first responders and witnesses and people who are at the implicated stations, trains,” Lindsay said.

“It was an awful thing for the railroad yesterday.”

Lindsay vows that his agency will continue, through its campaigns and partnership with “Operation Life Saver,” to highlight railway crossing safety. “Operation Life Saver” consists of railroaders and citizens who educate Canadians about hazards surrounding rail property and trains.

“As a dad in the middle of March Break, you’re right to say that accidents happen, but these ones always feel and hit a little bit differently for sure,” Lindsay said.

“I would say there’s always more that can be done, and you can count on us to continue to do it. But for what it’s worth, we already have considerable amounts of signage and safety campaigns, and as I say, we work with partners directly to try to get messages into schools and indeed into stations across our network to reinforce how people should take care when they’re around railroads.”

According to Peel police, Metrolinx will conduct the portion of the investigation as it relates to the train’s involvement in the collision. Peel police’s 12 Division Criminal Investigations Bureau will investigate the death.

Train service was halted in the aftermath of the collision. Service resumed at around 6:30 p.m.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Beth Macdonell