NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE
GARLAND — One nine-year-old North Texas boy is lucky to be alive and sitting in a hospital bed.
There are only three other children in the state since 2007 that have been hit by a train and survived to tell the tale.
It was an accident his parents said might have not happened if there hadn't been a hole in a chain-link fence designed to keep people away from the tracks.
CJ Davila was playing on the train tracks behind his family's Garland home when he admittedly made a bad choice and tried to grab onto the train for a ride.
"And the train was too fast and I slipped and fell and one of my legs went into the tracks," he said. "... And then God just gave me the strength to pull myself out and I was just gripping onto the rocks."
His two older brothers saw CJ fall and carried him home for help.
"One minute he's there and the next minute he's there missing a leg," said Charles Davila, CJ's father. "It was so fast."
Charles and Anna Davila admit their boys shouldn't have been near the tracks, but said they also question why the railway is so easily accessible. A sidewalk beside the Davila's home leads only to the railroad tracks; the chain link fence that's supposed prevent passage has a gap.
The Davila family said they would like whoever is responsible for fixing such problems to do so immediately, and make it more permanent.
"Maybe a wall or gate or something, closing it up so it will not be easy access because it's tempting to them," Mrs. Davila said.
CJ said other kids play on the tracks all the time.
"I want them to close it back there so no other kid can get hurt again," he said.
WFAA contacted the City of Garland to see if they're responsible for blocking access to the tracks since the sidewalk appears to have been made by the city. The city said it is investigating.
E-mail: jstjames@wfaa.com
