Driver who went around gates killed by train

A Des Plaines man died Thursday night after driving his car around railroad gates, according to police.

Police said that 42-year-old Robert Wells III was driving his car at the Pearson Street and Ellinwood Avenue intersection around 6 p.m. in downtown Des Plaines.

He drove his vehicle north onto Pearson Street around the lowered railroad gates, police said, and then struck the engine of westbound Metra train No. 645.

The impact caused the car to spin backward -- away from the tracks and train -- coming to rest on the sidewalk, said Des Plaines Police Sgt. Charles Akin.

The car hit 48-year-old Ricky Kollins of Chicago, a pedestrian waiting to cross the tracks.

Both men were taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Kollins was treated for minor injuries and released. Wells was pronounced dead at 7:08 p.m.