Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
NTSB: "Chicago crossing gates working" ELMWOOD PARK, Ill. - A group of cars hit by a commuter train at a busy suburban Chicago crossing had 54 seconds from the time the gates were activated until the train came barreling through, an official with the National Transportation Safety Board said, reports the Associated Press. The crossing gates appeared to be working, but traffic was backed up during the evening rush Wednesday and several cars became trapped between the gates, acting NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker said. "The cars were in a place they shouldn't have been at the time," Rosenker said. The train hit them because they had nowhere to go, he said. (Members of the UTU Transportation Safety Team have been on the scene assisting investigators from the NTSB.) Sixteen people were injured when the train slammed into the trapped cars and started a chain reaction in the heavy traffic. Three remained hospitalized Thursday, Rosenker said. Investigators are now looking into whether the traffic signals at the long diagonal intersection gave vehicles enough time to clear the tracks. They also planned to interview the train's crew members on Friday, and were investigating human error and other possible reasons for the crash. A spokesman for the Metra train service said the vehicles shouldn't have been in the train's path in the first place. A large sign above the tracks reads: "Long crossing. Do not stop on the tracks." "It's right above the gate" said Metra spokesman Patrick Waldron. "If you followed that sign you wouldn't have been on the tracks." (The preceding story was published by the Associated Press. Material in parenthesis was added by UTU editors.)
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag