HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- The Hanover County Sheriff's Office released new information Monday regarding the November death of a teenager killed by a freight train.
The teenager, 15-year-old Atlee High School student Chris Asare-Budu, was struck and killed by an oncoming freight train as he was crossing the tracks on his way to school.
An investigation into the incident reported that the CSX engineer saw Asare-Budu walking down the center of the train tracks toward the train.
The engineer attempted to get Asare-Budu's attention by using the train horn and slamming on the brakes.
However, according to the engineer, Asare-Budu was wearing earbuds and watching his phone while walking on the tracks up until the moment he was struck by the train.
In a press release, the Hanover Sheriff's Office additionally denied any rumors that Asare-Budu's death was intentional:
"We want to be clear there is no evidence currently this was in any way intentional on the victim's behalf.
This incident appears to be a tragic accident. We would like to encourage the community to be mindful of
the harmful impact of sharing false information in tragedies such as these. Again, we extend our sincere condolences to the family of Chris Asare-Budu."
The Sheriff's Office is continuing its investigation into Asare-Budu's death.
You can visit the following links to donate toward a GoFundMe page to support the Asare-Budu family during this time.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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