FOREST PARK, Ill. (AP) — Officials say a commuter train was likely unmanned when it crashed into another train outside Chicago during morning rush hour.
Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Lambrini Lukidis said video from the scene shows no driver at the controls of an empty train that crashed into another train carrying passengers Monday morning.
As many as four dozen people were hurt, though officials say none of the injures was life threatening.
Lukidis says the video has been turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating.
The empty train was eastbound when it hit a westbound train that was stopped at the Blue Line’s Harlem station in Forest Park. The CTA says the station has about 4,000 boards each weekday.
Forest Park is about 10 miles west of downtown Chicago.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
As many as four dozen people were injured when two Chicago commuter trains crashed in a western suburb during Monday morning rush hour, though none of the injuries appeared to be life threatening, officials said.
The crash happened when an empty Chicago Transit Authority train traveling east hit a westbound train that was carrying passengers but was stopped at the Blue Line’s Harlem station in Forest Park, CTA spokeswoman Lambrini Lukidis said. Forest Park is about 10 miles west of downtown Chicago.
“We were stopped at Harlem and then we hear like a big boom sound and everyone started flying out of their seats,” said passenger Lyneisha Fields. The 18-year-old said she was taken to a local hospital’s emergency room because she hit the back of her head on a metal bar in the train.
Lukidis said 33 people suffered non-life threatening injuries. Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone said he was told as many as four dozen people were injured, most reporting back and neck pain, and were taken to local hospitals.
“None were serious injuries, thank God,” Calderone said.Lukidis said the eastbound train was traveling on the same track as the westbound train along the Blue Line, which runs from O’Hare International Airport on the city’s northwest side to downtown Chicago, where trains run underground, and then west to Forest Park.
The crash left a section of one train crushed, and resembled an accordion.Firefighters from as many as a dozen local fire departments responded, Calderone said. Calls seeking comment from the Forest Park fire department weren’t immediately returned.
Read more
About Post Author
