DELTA BOY HIT BY TRAIN DIES

DELTA -- A 5-year-old child died Thursday at a St. Louis hospital following a train accident near his home in Delta.

Cody King, son of Rocky and Tomma King, died from injuries sustained after being hit by a Southern Pacific train pulling 63 cars Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. The accident occurred near Highway 25 northeast of Delta.

According to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, King ran off the tracks and then back on them before he was hit by the train. He was flown by helicopter to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis where he died shortly after noon Thursday.

King would have started kindergarten in the fall, but was already enrolled in a special education program at Scott County Central schools. Teachers said he was a "very loving child who liked hugs and kisses."