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Article updated: 12/19/2012 2:27 PM

Suburbs fail to mirror state's drop in train collisions

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A Metra train car derailed after a collision with a loaded dump truck whose driver ignored a lowered gate at a Mount Prospect crossing in May 2011.

Daily Herald file photo

Cars back up at the railroad crossing at Union Pacific Railroad tracks and Des Plaines River Road in Des Plaines during rush hour. Some railroad crossings in the suburbs have between 20,000 and 40,000 vehicles daily along with constant train traffic.

Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

Traci Spradlin hugs her fiance's daughter, Sophia King. Spradlin died in December 2009 at a mid-platform pedestrian crossing at a Lake Forest Metra station while hurrying across to meet what she thought was fiance Jason King's slow-moving Metra train. Instead, it was a speeding Amtrak.

Photo courtesy of Jason King

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Photo Courtesy of ABC 7 The aftermath of a collision between a Metra train and a dump truck in May 2011 in Mount Prospect.

Photo Courtesy of ABC 7 The aftermath of a collision between a Metra train and a dump truck in May 2011 in Mount Prospect.

Firefighters investigate near the wreckage of a dump truck whose driver went around a gate and collided with a Metra train in May 2011 in Mount Prospect.

Daily Herald file photo

As a Metra train departs for Chicago out of downtown Lombard, warning signs and small red lights remind riders to watch out for another train, but some experts say these mid-platform crossings are hazardous.

Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer

About this Article

At least three people a month will die when they are hit by a train in the Chicago region next year, according to statistical forecasts. Nearly three people a month will be injured. And twice a week, collisions between trains and vehicles or trains and pedestrians will snarl traffic, delay commuters and break hearts. In Part 1 of a three part series, Marni Pyke looks at which suburbs have the most collisions.

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    • A Metra train car derailed after a collision with a loaded dump truck whose driver ignored a lowered gate at a Mount Prospect crossing in May 2011.
    • Cars back up at the railroad crossing at Union Pacific Railroad tracks and Des Plaines River Road in Des Plaines during rush hour. Some railroad crossings in the suburbs have between 20,000 and 40,000 vehicles daily along with constant train traffic.
    • Traci Spradlin hugs her fiance’s daughter, Sophia King. Spradlin died in December 2009 at a mid-platform pedestrian crossing at a Lake Forest Metra station while hurrying across to meet what she thought was fiance Jason King’s slow-moving Metra train. Instead, it was a speeding Amtrak.
    • Photo Courtesy of ABC 7 The aftermath of a collision between a Metra train and a dump truck in May 2011 in Mount Prospect.
    • Photo Courtesy of ABC 7 The aftermath of a collision between a Metra train and a dump truck in May 2011 in Mount Prospect.
    • Firefighters investigate near the wreckage of a dump truck whose driver went around a gate and collided with a Metra train in May 2011 in Mount Prospect.
    • As a Metra train departs for Chicago out of downtown Lombard, warning signs and small red lights remind riders to watch out for another train, but some experts say these mid-platform crossings are hazardous.
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