WARREN – An 11-year-old boy was killed and a 26-year-old man critically injured Sunday afternoon when they were hit by a train on a railroad trestle off Depot Road, according to Maine State Police Sgt. Tom Ballard.

The youth, Nathan Chheng of Warren, died at the scene, where he had been fishing with friends, Trooper Jason Andrews said.

Aaron Staples, 26, also of Warren, was in critical condition late Sunday at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after being flown there by emergency helicopter, Andrews said.

Trisha Schumann, 20, and Randy Heald, 26, both of Warren, who were fishing with the victims, managed to jump to safety.

Two Maine Eastern Railroad crewmen were not injured. The conductor was Linwood Lothrop, age unavailable, of Rockland, and the engineer was Terry Maschino, 27, of West Gardiner, according to Andrews.

No charges were expected in the accident, he said.

The incident occurred at 3:36 p.m. on a stretch of track about a quarter-mile south of the old train station on Depot Road near the public landing at South Pond.

“We feel very sorry for the family,” Jon Shute, general manager of MERR, said Sunday night. “It’s a tragic circumstance. People should know that trespassing on a railroad [track] can have fatal consequences, as this incident so tragically points out.”

According to Ballard, the train – Engine 4228, carrying six empty boxcars – was heading north from Brunswick to Rockland. The train whistle blew at the Finntown Road crossing, a short distance before the trestle, which crosses a stream.

“As soon as the engine crew became aware of the people, [they] blew the whistle continuously,” Shute said. “The crew was hoping they would jump off the bridge.”

The drop from the bridge to the water is 15 to 20 feet, Shute said.

When the train came around a curve and saw the group, the crew hit the horn and pulled the brake lever, Ballard said. Schumann and Heald jumped down an embankment. Staples tried to help the boy get off the trestle, Ballard said, but the young Chheng stumbled and was fatally struck.

Staples was hit by the train and thrown near the water.

Ballard and Shute heard that a nearby boat picked up Staples and took him to the public landing. He was taken by ambulance to an air landing site near the fire station, Ballard said, and to CMMC by LifeFlight helicopter.

The foursome were friends, Ballard said, indicating they were not related. Heald was dating Chheng’s mother, and Staples and Schumann are a couple.

The engineer and conductor on board the train will be offered any medical assistance they might need, Michail Grizkewitsch of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Safety, said at the scene. “It’s a traumatic experience for them. It’s a helpless situation.”

“Obviously, they’re shaken by the experience,” Shute said.

State police Trooper Jason Andrews is the lead investigator in the case, Ballard said, and he was assisted by Sgt. David Tripp and Trooper Steve Hills. Knox County sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Tibbetts and Deputy Patrick Fosnaught also helped at the scene. Warren Fire and Rescue and Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services responded as well.

“At the Warren depot, signage clearly indicates no trespassing,” Shute said, “and jersey barriers [are in place]. We’ve done everything within our power to discourage people from being on the tracks. Our deepest sympathy goes to the family.”