Explanation Sought For Chicago Train Crash

CHICAGO -- Amtrak said it's waiting for information from an event recorder -- a device similar to a plane's black box -- to help determine what caused a collision with a freight train Friday in Chicago.

About 70 people aboard the Amtrak train were taken to area hospitals, mostly with minor injuries. Five people were taken from the scene in serious to critical condition and officials said at least 14 people overall were seriously hurt.

The Amtrak train, with 187 passengers aboard, plowed into the back of the Norfolk Southern freight train on a track shared by both companies.

The cause of the wreck has yet to be determined, and Amtrak said it's unclear which train was in the wrong place. Officials said the accident was recorded by a nearby camera and that the footage would be turned over to investigators.

Authorities said passengers were hurled into the seats in front of them and that four people had to be pulled from the front of the train, where the engine was located. That's where most of the damage occurred.

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the passenger portion of the train did not leave the rails, and all the passenger cars were upright, but they had a "very hard stop."

The train was going about 15 to 20 mph when the collision happened, WMAQ-TV in Chicago reported.

Langford said the engine of the Amtrak train was on top of the rear car of what appeared to be a freight train. Images from the scene showed the Amtrak train appeared to have rear-ended the freight train that was on the same tracks.

"There was no braking, he just ran right into the tail of the parked freight," said Coert Vanderhill, a passenger from Holland, Mich. "I don't understand what he was doing."

According to Amtrak, the train was the Pere Marquette, coming from Grand Rapids, Mich., to Chicago. At least 15 ambulances were sent to the scene.

Passengers streamed off the trains with the help of rescue workers. Some held the hands of small children. Most passengers walked away from the accident, but some were taken away on stretchers.

A conductor was pinned in the Amtrak engine car, WMAQ reported. Crews extended a ladder to free him, while another person got out of the engine car and was ambulatory.

A witness named Chuck said the crash sounded like a gas explosion when it happened.

"I looked over my shoulder, and there it was. Sitting there, I don't know what it was sitting on top of, but it looked like it was coming over the wall," he said.

John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County was expected to receive about 10 patients. Other patients were being sent to Mercy Hospital and to the University of Chicago.

Reute Butler, a passenger on the train, described what happened.

"We were having a perfectly normal train ride in Chicago, and suddenly, there was a loud bang. I was on the upper deck of the second car, and as it transpired over time, it appears that we ran into a parked freight train," Butler said. "People on the train were absolutely fabulous. They were asking everyone if they were all right. It's a wonderful demonstration of the best of humanity."

Butler said she was reclining with her feet on the back of the seat in front of her when the crash happened.

"I couldn't have been sitting in a luckier position," she said. "People were shaking a little bit, and they were nervous, and there were some tears, but they were rock-solid. People were great, they really were."

Another passenger who was in the train's third car said there was no warning, just a "boom" as the trains hit.

"I was flying out of my seat just like everyone else," the man said.

Emergency crews set up a triage center nearby to examine passengers for injuries and transport them to hospitals.

Amtrak and Metra officials said the crash was not causing any delays. With the exception of Shields Avenue, where the accident happened, roads in the area were not closed.

Anyone concerned about passengers on the train should call the Red Cross to check on the injured at 312-729-6200.