One hurt as SUV collides with train in Wheaton

A 52-year-old man was injured Tuesday when the SUV he was driving collided with a Union Pacific freight train at Hill Avenue and the railroad crossing near Wheaton's College Avenue station.

Wheaton police said the driver of the 2005 Jeep Liberty drove around the activated railroad crossing signal about 11:50 a.m.

Witnesses said the SUV was traveling east on College at a high rate of speed. The train was traveling west on the southernmost tracks.

The collision caused the SUV to be pushed off the tracks and onto its side.

The driver, who was able to exit the vehicle on his own, was transported to Central DuPage Hospital where he was being treated, CDH spokesman Chris King said.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the driver sustained “minor abrasions.” There were no injuries to crew members on the freight train.

Garrett White, 19, of Wheaton, said he arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the collision and saw an ambulance transporting the SUV driver.

White said the car's sunroof was facing nearby Crescent Street, which runs parallel on the south side of the tracks. Crews removed the vehicle by 1 p.m. and the stalled freight train was moving from the scene 25 minutes later.

White also said one of the Jeep's tires rolled about 75 feet from the intersection of Hill and the tracks.

All railroad traffic was stopped for about 90 minutes after the crash. By 1:30 p.m., Metra trains were going through the College Avenue station, albeit at delays of up to 80 minutes from scheduled timetables.

The 68-car freight train was headed to North Platte, Neb., from Union Pacific's Proviso yard in Northlake. It was stopped in West Chicago for the evening rush hour.

Ÿ Daily Herald photographer Mark Black contributed to this report.