A 13-year-old boy who was hit by a train while walking his dog in Springwater, Ont., Sunday morning is being remembered by his family as loving, giving and helpful.
The boy, whom the family has identified as Kevin Morgan, left his house Sunday morning to take his dog, Eva, for a walk.
About a half-hour later, Eva was at the door of Morgan’s house — without her collar or leash, Karen Ferguson, Morgan’s aunt, told Global News.
“My sister (Morgan’s mother) thought that was a little off, but she didn’t think anything of it. A few minutes later, she asked her son Michael to ask Kevin to do something, and Michael said he couldn’t find him.”
Morgan’s mother, Jen Mantle, searched the house for Kevin, but she wasn’t able to find him, either, Ferguson said. Then, Mantle heard sirens, so she jumped into her car and drove to the bottom of the road, where the train tracks are located, she said.
“The police were already there and wouldn’t let her in, but my sister gave them a description of Kevin and they confirmed that it was him,” Ferguson said.
“He was already gone. There was nothing they could do to save him. They tried.”
On Sunday, police said they were called to the scene near Baldwick Lane, north of Highway 90, in Springwater, at around 9:20 a.m., for reports of a pedestrian who was struck by a train.
Officers said the boy who was hit by the CP Rail train died at the scene.
“Kevin was a very loving and giving boy. He was one of those kids that would text you or call you just randomly to see how you were doing and just to tell you that he loved you,” Ferguson said, remembering her nephew.
“He would help his nana out with stuff at the house. … He was just a very good kid — really, really smart, creative and just easygoing.”
Ferguson said her family is still not 100 per cent sure what happened the minutes leading up to Morgan’s death.
“We’re still waiting for the investigation to conclude,” she said, adding the family is devastated.
Since the incident took place, Ferguson’s daughter and Morgan’s cousin, Sara Ferguson, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral costs and other supports the family may need.
“My sister is a transit driver and she’s a single mother who struggles to pay her bills on a regular basis,” Ferguson said.
“Now with this tragedy, she won’t be able to work for some time, of course. The funeral costs are going to be really hard to meet.”
So far, the GoFundMe page has raised just short of $10,000.
“We are completely blown away from the generosity of people,” Ferguson said. “I’m so thankful and so grateful that people are so generous in times of need like this.”
Moving forward, Ferguson said there needs to be more education for children surrounding train safety.
“We see things in movies and in stories where people are walking along the train tracks or jumping on trains,” she said. “It doesn’t work that way in real life.”
— with files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca