Just like the movie, but this times it's real

[CoolBreeze]

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) -- After goofing around downtown, four teenagers marched past a "no trespassing" sign and braved a railroad trestle that spans 200 feet over a creek. As they joked around and took pictures at the bridge's halfway point, an oncoming train barreled down the tracks, its whistle howling alarm.

Onlookers yelled for the teens to run or jump into the slow-moving water 20 feet below, but only a young boy could sprint to safety. The three others, all girls, were killed Saturday as the sun set over Crane Creek, police and witnesses said.

The teenagers had been hanging out in Melbourne's downtown area - known for its shops and nightclubs - when they decided to cross the trestle around 6:30 p.m., Lt. Curtis Barger said. Their parents had dropped them off at a mall, and then they took a bus downtown where they were "just goofing off," he said, without elaborating.

Bruce Dumas, 53, was fishing under the bridge when he saw the teens walk onto the trestle. He warned them to be careful, but he said they didn't pay much attention to him.

"You know how kids are," Dumas said. "They probably wanted pictures of themselves on the track."

Dumas said he heard the train's whistle, then the sound of the brakes. After impact, he heard a girl screaming and crying.

"I think the train was on them so fast they froze and didn't know what to do," Dumas said. "It's crazy to watch a young life snuffed out like that. They didn't have a chance to live yet."

The teens could have jumped onto an old, rusty trestle next to one they were on, though it was unclear why they didn't.

Another fisherman, Charlie Foust, shouted at the teenagers to jump into the water.

It's almost impossible for me to understand how anyone... even kids... wouldn't have the self preservation instincts to save themselves by simply jumping into the water.

[Lester]

The fear of heights, water, whatever overrode the fear of the unknown. Never underestimate the power of panic.

There's also the option of laying down between the rails.

[AmpedNow]

There's also the option of laying down between the rails.

I'd rather jump.

If the train won't get me, the certain heart attack would.

[weaver]

"You know how kids are," Dumas said.

Yes, they're not particularly intelligent.