Another Tragedy On Tracks: Man Killed By Metra Train In Downers Grove
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (CBS) -- A man died Tuesday morning when he was struck by a Metra train as he was crossing the tracks in Downers Grove.
It's the third fatality involving a Metra train since Thursday, and the fourth time a Metra train has struck a pedestrian in that time.
The man was struck by an inbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe train near the Downers Grove Main Street station around 9:40 a.m., according to Metra.
It was the second time in as many days that a Metra BNSF struck and killed a pedestrian.
Transportation expert Joe Schwieterman of DePaul University, said he has never seen so many - in such a short time.
Illinois is ranked sixth in the nation for what's called trespassing fatalities on train tracks, CBS 2's Chris Martinez reports.
"Metra is gonna have to look deep inside to see what they haven't tried yet," said Schwieterman. "Whether it's security guards at some of these crossings at peak times, whether it's sound signals when trains are coming, or slowing down trains, something needs to be looked at. This can't continue."
On Monday, 42-year-old Dale Bowling of Clarendon Hills was killed when he was struck by a train near the West Hinsdale station.
On Friday, a Metra Union Pacific Northwest train struck 11-year-old Dominc Szymanski, a fifth-grader at Hough Elementary School, as he was crossing the tracks at Illinois Route 59 near Lake Cook Road.
Szymanski survived the accident, and was recovering at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, after losing a foot and undergoing multiple surgeries.
On Thursday, 56-year-old Gail Przybyla was killed when a Milwaukee District West Line train struck her near the Bensenville station, as she was crossing the tracks just west of Addison Street.
