Naperville dance teacher's family files suit against railroads
The family of a Naperville dance teacher who was struck and killed by a train filed suit Wednesday against two railroad companies.
The lawsuit accuses Canadian National Railway subsidiaries Illinois Central Railroad Company and Wisconsin Central Ltd. of being negligent in operating the railroad signals in University Park where Katie Lunn died in April.
"Given the way the railroads mismanaged this railroad crossing ... we wanted to ensure that another family does not have to go through their ordeal, their grief and their sorrow and the suit is a mechanism to try to help ensure that," said Lunn family attorney Michael Demetrio.
The suit was filed Wednesday in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Lunn, 26, was a dance teacher and manager at the School of Performing Arts in Naperville. The Chicago resident was driving home from a dance performance at Governor's State University on April 16 when a train struck her vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Days after the crash, Canadian National Railway confirmed the warning system was not functioning properly at the Stuenkel Road crossing where crews had been working earlier in the day.
The lawsuit alleges the railroad companies did not properly manage the crossing signals and failed to reactivate them after the work was done.
The Lunn family is seeking damages of more than $50,000 and has asked for a jury trial.
A spokesman for Canadian National declined to comment Wednesday.
Demetrio said if Lunn family members are awarded money in the case, they plan to put at least some of it toward the Keep the Smile Alive Katie Lunn Memorial Fund.
"If you look at the outpouring for Katie as to what kind of person she was and what she gave back, they're hoping to achieve putting together something that will continue that legacy and encourage others to be like her," Demetrio said.
Lunn graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in dance management and danced for the American Spirit Dance Co. and Oklahoma City University Pep Dancers. She also danced professionally, did choreography work for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Arena Football Dance Team and was an instructor at the Joffrey Ballet School.