A 9-year-old boy who was riding a bike to school was struck and killed by a freight train Friday in central Illinois, authorities said.

       Union Pacific railroad says the boy was struck by one of its trains in the village of Royal, Illinois, at about 7:45 a.m. CT. It says the train crew was not injured.

       The boy was near other people who were not injured, said Lt. Curt Apperson of the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.

       Apperson called it a “tragic accident.” The railroad said its thoughts were with the family of the boy.

       The child was struck along tracks about two blocks from Prairieview-Ogden North Elementary, The News-Gazette of Champaign reported.