Officials: Gates appeared to be working when fatal Amtrak crash occurred
Initial reports indicate that railroad crossing gates were deployed when an Amtrak train collided with a vehicle on the tracks in Western Springs Wednesday, killing two children.
Village officials’ latest statement noted the crash is still under investigation but “preliminary reports indicate that the railroad crossing gates were functioning and were engaged at the time of the accident.”
The fiery crash took the lives of two students from Pleasantdale Elementary School in La Grange, while the driver of the vehicle was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with severe injuries.
“Words cannot express the heartbreak and sorrow we feel as we mourn this devastating loss,” Pleasantdale School District 107 Superintendent Dave Palzet said in a statement.
A Cook County medical examiner’s office spokesperson said both victims “remain unidentified,” as of Thursday morning.
Bystanders said the vehicle caught fire right after the impact.
The westbound Amtrak train hit the vehicle at about 8 a.m. at the Wolf Road crossing. The Carl Sandburg train was traveling from Chicago to Quincy when “a vehicle came on the tracks and made contact,” Amtrak Senior Public Relations Manager Jason Abrams said.
There were no reported injuries to the train’s 35 passengers or crew.
The tragedy stopped Metra BNSF Line trains, impacting hundreds of commuters, until service was restored late in the afternoon Wednesday.
Mark Wolz, owner of the Elite Fitness gym located near the collision scene, said a gym member saw the vehicle apparently go around the warning gates before it was struck. Police said details of the crash are still being investigated.
Four years ago, another passenger train was involved in a fatal collision with a truck on the BNSF tracks in nearby Clarendon Hills. The truck was hit by an eastbound Metra train during the morning rush hour on May 11, 2022. One female passenger was killed; two other riders and two crew members suffered minor injuries.
In that case, the National Transportation Safety Board found that the truck had stalled in the middle of the crossing.
mpyke@dailyherald.com