Lawsuit filed by family of Barrington teen killed when hit by Metra train

The family of a Barrington High School student killed when hit by a Metra train while walking to classes Jan. 25 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging authorities failed to protect pedestrians at the crossing where she was struck.

Marin Lacson, 17, died as she crossed the Union Pacific tracks at Hough Street in downtown Barrington. The suit, filed Wednesday in Cook County court, alleges pedestrians were not adequately warned of the danger at the crossing, despite at least two prior occasions where trains struck pedestrians there.

The lawsuit mentions one occasion, March 15, 2013, when 11-year-old Dominic Szymanski was struck at the Hough Street crossing by a Metra train and lost his foot. After an outbound train had cleared the tracks, he attempted to cross, unaware an inbound train was coming.

“Despite actual knowledge of the increased risk of harm of train collisions with pedestrians at the Hough Street Crossing following Dominic’s train collision in 2013, Metra, Union Pacific, and the Village of Barrington never performed an engineering study to determine the risk of pedestrian collisions at the Hough Street Crossing,” the lawsuit states.

“Marin’s death was entirely preventable,” attorney James Pullos said when announcing the lawsuit. “Marin merely attempted to cross over the sidewalk on her way to school after the first train passed through the crossing. Without any warnings to alert her that an inbound train was coming from the opposite direction and without notice that this inbound track was what is sometimes called a ‘hot rail,’ Marin was unaware there was a second train approaching.”

The suit names Union Pacific Railroad, Metra and the village of Barrington as defendants.

According to the 34-page complaint, no engineering study was ever performed after the two previous pedestrian incidents at the crossing to assess the risk of train collisions and no action was taken to improve pedestrian safety at this crossing.

The lack of safety measures is especially troubling because the crossing is located in a “Quiet Zone,” where train horns are not to be sounded except at the operator’s discretion, the family’s lawyers contend.

“Instead of showing urgency for the community safety, no action was ever taken to address the long-standing safety concerns at this crossing,” Pullos said.

The girl was struck at about 7:45 a.m.

The suit said the National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory the morning Lacson left home.

The suit also claims the inbound train was going too fast for conditions and failed to reduce speed to prevent harm to Lacson at the crossing.

Michael Lacson delivered an emotional statement via YouTube, in which he said Marin’s death was preventable.

“Unlike other nearby railroad crossings, this crossing lacked pedestrian gates and other pedestrian warnings, which would have saved my daughter's life,” he said.

He said basic safety measures were ignored for years and continue to be ignored, while, “So far, those responsible for addressing the community’s safety have not held themselves accountable.”

In particular, he said the family has lost “all trust and confidence” in Barrington’s elected leadership to take necessary to increase public safety and hold the railroad companies accountable.

“My family is committed to making a difference to prevent something like this from ever happening again,” he said. “Marin was a wonderful person with a bright future ahead of her. Our family has been devastated.”

Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said Metra has no comment on the lawsuit.

Union Pacific officials said, “Safety is the key foundational pillar of everything we do. Our thoughts are with the Lacson family and community impacted. At this time, we have not had the opportunity to review the lawsuit.”

Barrington officials are aware of the lawsuit, but have not been formally served. Village officials said precautions have been taken in the aftermath of Lacson’s death.

They include placing safety monitors at four railroad crossings during arrival and departure times for school, as well as installing signage and pavement markings.

In addition, the village is working with the Illinois Commerce Commission to install pedestrian crossing gates at Union Pacific crossings at Hough Street, Main Street and Hillside Avenue. The ICC has allocated $1.15 million toward the project.