Wife Of Man Killed By Metra Train Sues For Wrongful Death
CHICAGO (STMW)-- The wife of a Joliet man struck and killed by a Metra train last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the rail agency and its partners.
Stephanie Blair claims three rail agencies are liable for the death of her husband, Blair Flatten, who was hit by a Rock Island District Metra train April 18, 2010 at Pilcher Park in south suburban Joliet.
Blair, 32, was walking on a railroad bridge crossing when he was struck and killed around 1:52 p.m., according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.
The train traveled at an excessive speed, failed to maintain a proper lookout for pedestrians, and failed to adequately signal a whistle, the lawsuit states.
The three defendants named in the case are the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., doing business as Metra; CSX Transportation, Inc.; and the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority.
Those agencies "should have known that pedestrians frequently used said bridge to cross over Hickory Creek," the suit states.
Stephanie Blair is seeking $30,000 for each of the six negligence and survival act counts.
A spokesperson for Metra did not immediately return phone calls Friday.
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