Lake Forest Academy senior killed by train

Lake Forest Academy is mourning the death of 18-year-old senior Ju Young "Chris" Lee, who was killed by a train Friday evening.

Lee, a boarding student from South Korea, was killed when he was struck by a northbound Amtrak train. A female classmate walking with Lee suffered injuries and is listed in good condition at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said Lee's death appears to have been an accident.

"Right now it certainly looks to be an accident," Keller said. "They were taking a path to get from one place to another."

Lee and the unidentified woman were struck by the train as they walked north along a remote stretch of tracks in Lake Forest, Lake Forest Deputy Police Chief Dave Field said.

The northbound train was using a section of track owned by the Metra commuter rail system when it struck the young people near Conway Road, about a quarter-mile north of the Telegraph Road Metra station.

The location is not near any designated pedestrian crossing, and the two were trespassing on the tracks, a Metra spokeswoman said.

A statement issued by the academy Saturday remembered Lee as "a valuable and beloved member of our community."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends," the statement read. "The LFA community is grieving this tremendous loss."

Academy spokesman Matt Less said the academy has alerted all students, faculty, and parents about the tragedy and is providing counseling support. Less also confirmed Lee's family is traveling to the United States.

All sporting events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were also canceled.

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said Saturday that grief counseling is also offered to train crews when something like this occurs.

Amtrak officials said the Hiawatha 339 from Chicago to Milwaukee was traveling at 69 mph. No injuries were reported to any of the 138 passengers.

North and southbound trains on Metra's Milwaukee District North Line were delayed because of the accident, officials said.

The accident happened along a stretch of tracks bound on both sides by trees and shrubs bordering a residential neighborhood.

It is the second train fatality in Lake Forest in recent months.

A Grayslake woman was killed Dec. 10 at Lake Forest's Telegraph Road Metra station when she was hit by an Amtrak train as she ran across the crosswalk. Tracy Spradlin, 43, thought it was a Metra train that would stop at the station.

That fatal accident prompted officials to close a crosswalk at the station, forcing pedestrians to reach the east platform from a path further north.

In February 2008, Jean McNeill, 51, of Round Lake was killed by a speeding Amtrak while crossing in front of what she also thought was a slowing Metra train.