Woman Injured When Metra Train Hits SUV In Hometown
CHICAGO (CBS/STMW) -- A woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries when her SUV was struck by a Metra train Wednesday morning in southwest suburban Hometown, near the Chicago border.
Inbound Southwest Service train No. 808 struck a vehicle near 87th and Pulaski at 7:25 a.m., according to Metra spokesman Tom Miller. The train was originally scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 7:55 a.m.
The Hometown Fire Department responded to the crash and removed the driver, a woman in her 40s, from the Chrysler Pacifica, according to Deputy Fire Chief James Russell.
The woman was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with non-life-threatening injuries, Russell said. She was the only person in the SUV.
Efrain Ramirez says the car was hit from behind by another driver -- pushing it into the intersection before colliding with the side of the train.
"One of the vehicles got hit by another vehicle trying to make a quick turn," he said.
About three weeks ago a similar scene unfolded at the same intersection, only with deadly results.
Two women were killed and four were injured, including a baby.
In that incident the vehicle was stuck on the tracks, unable to move because of ice.
Fighters saying there's at least one thing both incidents have in common -- it was snowing during both occasions.
But Ramirez adds the tangle of roads could pave the way to commuter confusion, with Southwest Highway going diagonally, east and west bound 87th and north and southbound Pulaski and the tracks creating a jumble of traffic patterns.
"I've seen it where guys are running literally going around the gates trying to make a left," he said.
Southwest Service trains were on the move again after the crash, running between 25 and 35 minutes late, according to Metra's website.
CTA buses No. 53A South Pulaski and No. 87 87th buses were temporarily rerouted in the area after the crash.
Metra tells CBS 2 that since 1990, they've only recorded five accidents there.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2016. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
