Woman who drove onto tracks killed by impact, not fire
The 61-year-old Rolling Meadows woman whose SUV was struck by a train in Arlington Heights on Thursday died from the impact and not from the ensuing fire, the Cook County medical examiner's office said Friday.
Arlington Heights police are continuing to investigate why Zaiemunnisa Khan, 61, drove her 2009 Honda Element under the crossing gate arm and up onto the tracks in the path of an inbound Metra train.
Deputy Police Chief Andy Whowell said witnesses reported Khan had turned from Northwest Highway and was heading west on Euclid Avenue when she was hit. Khan's vehicle burst into flames and was pushed by the train around 1,000 feet until the train came to a stop.
Police confirmed Friday she was alone in the vehicle.
Whowell said there is no indication that the train, which was going to stop at the downtown Arlington Heights Metra station, was traveling at an excessive speed or that the gates malfunctioned.
"We are trying to pinpoint what her destination was, what she was doing before the crash," Whowell said.
He said Khan's vehicle went under the gate, pushing it up as she drove forward.
Whowell said the investigation into what happened is still preliminary. Police have spoken to Khan's family, he said. He said the department will complete a total accident reconstruction in the next few weeks and still needs to compile a lot of information.
The medical examiner's office said no toxicology report information was available Friday. The examination of Khan's body was conducted Friday morning.
No one on the train was injured in the crash, but Whowell said one person later had an anxiety attack and was taken to a hospital.