Early on Thursday morning, a Chicago commuter train struck some rail equipment, seriously injuring about forty passengers. Just before 10.35 am, the Chicago Fire Department reported that a train operated by the Chicago Transit Authority collided with snow-removal equipment in the vicinity of the Howard CTA station on the North Side of the city.
According to Robert Jurewicz, second district chief of the Chicago Fire Department, the train carrying 31 riders and seven CTA employees collided with the slower-moving rail equipment while it was traveling south from Skokie.
Those hurt included women and children.
There were thirty-eight injuries total, four of which were to minors. According to Keith Gray, assistant deputy chief paramedic, 23 people were brought to local hospitals, three of whom were critically wounded. However, no one’s injuries were life-threatening.
Among those gravely injured was the train’s operator, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The publication said that the kids had minor injuries.
The other fifteen passengers on the train, according to him, turned down on-site medical attention. The National Transportation Safety Board said via Twitter that a team will be sent to look into the event.
“Horrible boom sound”
When Shayla Smith heard about the crash, she had just boarded a Purple Line train at Howard on her way to work in Wilmette. She said that yelling broke out among the people on her train, and that she witnessed an old lady almost fall out of her seat.
“I heard a terrible boom sound,” the woman said to the Sun-Times. “There was an odd boom sound. We felt like we were about to go over, so I thought, What’s going on? My whole body shook. On television, the train’s end was crushed and shoved in.
Some of the passengers were taken into a triage center on stretchers to be evaluated as they were escorted off the train; at least one person was seen to be badly bleeding from the head.
A minimum of fifteen ambulances were sent to the location.
The reason of the incident is still being looked into, according to CTA authorities. The collision had resulted in a temporary suspension of train service on the CTA’s Red, Purple, and Yellow lines, according to the commuter service’s website.
