Metra brings railroad track safety message to Grayslake
Metra used a special train to carry a message about railroad track safety to Lake County.
Cleveland resident Mark Kalina Jr., who lost two legs in a train accident and represents Operation Lifesaver, and Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno were among the passengers on the Milwaukee North Line train. They spoke about safety during a Friday news conference in the Lake Street depot in Grayslake.
One of the train cars bore a blue-and-yellow banner reading: “Car vs. Train (It's No Contest).”
Kalina's appearance coincided with National Rail Safety Month. Operation Lifesaver is national railroad safety education program addressing the dangers of disobeying grade-crossing warning devices and trespassing along tracks.
He said he was an Ohio State University student in Columbus on Oct. 12, 2012, when he used railroad tracks as a shortcut while walking back to his apartment. Kalina walked alongside a train that wasn't moving, with the idea of cutting across when he reached the end.
“I lost my footing on a gravel incline,” said Kalina, 26. “My feet slid down. I reached out with my right arm to grab anything. That's when my buttoned-up shirt got snagged on a rail car. My feet slid down and my sleeve was the only thing holding me up. Right then, the train started kicking into motion.”
He was dragged by the train, but hoisted himself up between two rail cars before he was jostled and fell. He wound up between the tracks and the train passed over him.
Kalina said he shares his story because he doesn't want anyone to repeat his mistake.
“A few years ago, I got started with Operation Lifesaver,” he said. “I started giving presentations to anyone who would listen.”
Orseno touched on Metra's safety initiatives, which include at least 50 annual information blitzes at train stations to reach riders and anyone else present.
Metra also held its 10th poster-and-essay contest for children through Operation Lifesaver.
“It's amazing,” Orseno said. “Sometimes the kids go home and they're sitting in the car, 'Mommy, daddy, don't do that. There's a stop sign there. Don't do that, that's a railroad, you shouldn't do that.' It's sad when you've got to have a 10-year-old kid telling the guy that's driving the car what he should and shouldn't be doing.”