Police: 2 Seriously Hurt When Pink Line Train Hits Car That Went Around Crossing Gates In Cicero
CICERO, Ill. (CBS) -- A CTA Pink Line train hit a car when its driver went around the crossing gates in Cicero late Thursday, leaving two teenage boys who had been in the car seriously injured.
A 21-year-old woman was driving north on 47th Avenue – just east of Cicero Avenue and near Cermak Road – and tried to go around the train gates when they were down, Cicero authorities said. Chicago Transit Authority Pink Line trains run at grade level on that stretch, and the woman's car was hit by one, officials said.
The woman's front-seat passenger, a 15-year-old boy, was ejected from the car and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, authorities said.
A 17-year-old boy in the back seat was in serious condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
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The driver was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn with minor injuries. Three others were taken to Loretto Hospital, also with minor injuries.
"When those gates are down, they're down for a reason. There's trains coming from multiple directions and they're going very fast and you do not see them," said Cicero police Supt. Jerry Chlada Jr. "So when they're down wait for them to go back up."
CTA trains were halted at the scene at the time of the accident. As of the 10 p.m. hour, it remained an active scene as crews tried to get the wreckage cleared.
Pink Line service was suspended between 54th/Cermak and Central Park late Thursday. Shuttle buses were being offered.
