Metra Train Hits Car; Union Pacific-West Line Shut Down
UPDATED 12/29/11 7:51 a.m.
WEST CHICAGO, Ill. (CBS) -- The Metra Union Pacific West Line was shut down for some time Thursday morning, after a train hit an empty car in West Chicago.
CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports the accident happened sometime around 5:30 a.m. on the line, along Roosevelt Road just east of Kautz Road.
The car slid onto the tracks after an earlier crash on Roosevelt Road, Metra officials told the Sun-Times Media Wire reported.
One person was taken to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield from the scene, the Sun-Times Media Wire reported. The person's injuries were not considered serious.
As a consequence of the crash, the Union Pacific West Line was completely halted for some time.
The train that was involved in the accident, No. 12, was stopped in West Chicago at 5:40 a.m., and train Nos. 14, 16, and 18 were stopped west of Geneva. By 6:45 a.m., the trains had been released and were on the move.
Roosevelt Road was also closed between Kautz and Kress roads on the south side of the DuPage County Airport until further notice.
Within a short distance of the Metra accident, numerous other accidents and spinouts were reported Thursday morning as a consequence of icy roads.
On Kirk Road just south of Roosevelt Road/East State Street (Illinois 38), a multi-vehicle accident involving a semi-trailer truck hauling Coca-Cola products was reported. Kirk Road was closed between Route 38 and Fabyan Parkway.
Nearby on Fabyan Parkway in Batavia, another accident involving ambulances was spotted. One car crossed the center line and slammed into at least one other vehicle.
Habermehl advises saying off the roads for now, given the amount of treacherous ice.
