Metra continues investigation into fatal collision with snowplow in Bartlett

A video shows crossing gates were down with warning lights and bells activated Monday morning when a Bartlett public works employee crossed the tracks in a small snowplow and was struck by a Metra train, officials said.

That video obtained by Metra police was the only piece of new information available Tuesday from the ongoing investigation in the deadly collision, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said.

The cause and manner of the 64-year-old village employee’s death await a final determination following an autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The man’s name has not yet been released because his next of kin hasn’t been notified, a spokeswoman for the office said.

An Elgin-bound train on the Milwaukee District West line struck the Bobcat-type vehicle the employee was operating at the Bartlett commuter station at about 8:35 a.m., authorities said.

There were no injuries aboard the train, Gillis said. Train traffic on the line was halted for about an hour in the aftermath of the collision.

The investigation also caused the northbound and southbound lanes of Oak Avenue and Western Avenue to be temporarily closed at Railroad Avenue, Bartlett police said.