Amtrak train slams into car that ended up on tracks in north Chicago suburbs
MORTON GROVE, Ill. (CBS) -- An Amtrak train headed for Union Station hit an unoccupied car on the tracks in Morton Grove Thursday night, just after witnesses pulled out the suspected drunken driver.
Just before 7 p.m., Train No. 1340 on then Borealis Service—headed from St. Paul, Minnesota through Milwaukee to Chicago—hit the unoccupied vehicle at 8500 N. Lehigh Ave. in Morton Grove. This is just south of the Glenview Amtrak station.
Meanwhile, Morton Grove police said they were called to the scene not for the car being hit by the train, but for a reckless drive complaint involving the car that ended up getting hit.
Police said the black 2004 Acura TL had already hit a parked car in the 8100 block of Lehigh Avenue. After the crash, the Acura headed north on the railroad tracks until becoming disabled, police said.
Nearby witnesses got the driver out before the Amtrak train plowed into the car. No injuries were reported to the driver or anyone on the train, police said.
As seen in video from the scene, the car was ripped in two by the crash.
Part of the car was left wrecked and mangled at the front of the train. The rest of the car was standing on two wheels on the tracks with its back end sheared off.
A sport-utility vehicle with rear-end damage was also seen nearby.
Meanwhile, the 56-year-old man who had been driving the Acura was arrested on suspicion of DUI by Morton Grove police officers. Charges are pending, and no further information about the driver was released, police said.
The Amtrak trains was delayed for the investigation. Metra Milwaukee District North also use the tracks, and were stopped in both directions in the wake of the accident.
Lehigh Avenue will be closed until further notice between Lincoln Avenue and River Drive, police said. The Metra tracks are also expected to be closed overnight.
The Metra Police Department is investigating the crash involving the Amtrak train and the car, Morton Grove police said.