HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. — A 13-year-old boy was just walking home from school in Highlands County on Monday afternoon when he was hit by an Amtrak train.
The boy died at the scene — less than 100 yards from his middle school. He is one of the many, about 620 students, who cross the nearby train tracks to get home.
"We are a small community with close ties in when there is a tragedy like this and the unthinkable happens," John Varady, Highlands County School District spokesperson, said on Tuesday.
"Our schools are hit very hard and that was the case here at Avon Park Middle School," he said.
Just moments after school let out at 1:30 p.m., the Highlands County Sheriff's Office got the 911 call that someone had been hit by a train. Paramedics stationed just around the corner arrived within moments — but Malik died at the scene.
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Other students taking the same route home witnessed what happened to their classmate.
Detectives were still working to interview all the children on Tuesday.
“We've been told that he had earbuds in, but we haven't been able to conclusively determine that," Highlands County Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Dressel said. "But it looks like he was just trying to cross the tracks.”
Malik was also wearing a hoodie, according to the sheriff's office, but they did not know if the hood was up at the time of the crash.
Meanwhile, on campus on Tuesday, there were counselors and other staff brought in by the school district to help those mourning. The sheriff's office therapy dogs were also at the school to help kids cope.
“There have been quite a few students who are utilizing the support services," Varady said. "Middle-schoolers are young. For some, this may be their first experience with loss."
Students and staff were remembering Malik.
“We have heard he was bright and he was outgoing and he was a joyful young man, who others seem to very much enjoy being around, one person shared with me. He just kind of lit up a room," Varady said. “It seems like he touched quite a few lives in the short time he was here.”
On Tuesday afternoon, there were deputies posted next to the railroad crossing. Several Amtrak trains passed by in the time just before or after school let out.
Many of the students who attend Avon Park Middle School cross the tracks to get to and from school. The crossing does not have pedestrian gates, and there isn't a school crossing guard posted there.
The sheriff's office said it would be a challenge to post school crossing guards at railroad crossings near schools since nearly every one of their 17 campuses is near a track crossing.
“We would just encourage parents and guardians to talk to their children about, you know, about safety when you're walking to and from school, whether it's when you're crossing a train track or crossing a street," Dressel said. "Just make sure your kids know that they need to be looking both ways. Staying aware of their surroundings and things like that.”
