Train hits teen driving tractor in B.C.'s Fraser Valley

A 15-year-old Chilliwack, B.C., boy was airlifted to hospital after he was struck by a train while driving a farm tractor on Sunday morning.

Police say the collision happened at around 11:45 a.m. PT.

The teen was driving the tractor and pulling a trailer across a railway crossing near the 44500 block of South Sumas Road.

A young passenger was also riding on the tractor, but managed to jump clear before the train hit.

RCMP Insp. Konrad Golbeck said the 15-year-old driver is in serious but stable condition at B.C. Children's Hospital.

The passenger had minor injuries and was taken to Chilliwack General Hospital but later released.

The train involved in the collision was from Southern Railway of British Columbia and consisted of three engines and two cars hauling grain.

Golbeck said officers from the RCMP's Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service went to the scene Sunday afternoon.