1 killed, several hurt in Illinois car-train crash

SKOKIE, Ill. (AP) - Authorities say one person was killed and several were injured when a train struck a car at a suburban Chicago railway crossing.

Skokie police released a statement Monday saying firefighters extricated two people from the mangled car following the late-morning accident.

Chicago Transit Authority spokesman Jeff Tolman says investigators believe the vehicle drove through a grade crossing before the collision.

Police say one of the car's occupants, identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as 62-year-old Blandina Hermez of Skokie, was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Evanston St. Francis Hospital spokesman Jim O'Connell says a female passenger in the car was in critical condition and four train passengers were treated for minor injuries.

Service on the rail line was suspended during an investigation.