UPDATE: Another Pedestrian Dead After Being Hit by Train in Downers Grove
It was the third train-on-pedestrian fatality in the last two weeks on the stretch of BNSF railway between Hinsdale and Downers Grove.
Updated at 4:30 p.m.
The DuPage County Coroner's Office does know the identity of the male pedestrian who was killed by an eastbound train near downtown Downers Grove Tuesday morning, but is withholding all information, including age and residence, until all next of kin are notified, chief deputy coroner Charlie Dastych said.
12:21 p.m.
The male pedestrian who died Tuesday morning after being struck by an eastbound commuter train near the Forest Avenue crossing in Downers Grove disobeyed crossing gates that were down, according to a statement released by the Downers Grove Police Department at 11:48 a.m.
According to the statement, the incident was reported to police at 9:49 a.m. A Metra spokesman said the collision itself occurred around 9:45 a.m.
The pedestrian, whose identity has not been released, walked around crossing gates while the Metra commuter train was west of the crossing, traveling east.
"Witnesses stated that the crossing gates were down and functioning at the time of the accident," the release reads.
Lt. Michael Willison said it couldn't be concluded yet if the pedestrian intended to be struck or if it was an accident.
Metra officials say the train was scheduled to make a stop at the Main Street station. It is not known how fast the train was going when it was crossing Forest.
All BNSF trains were back on schedule, according to Metra, as of 12:21 p.m.
11:30 a.m.
Metra says it hopes to have full BNSF service restored by noon Tuesday after a male pedestrian was struck and killed by a commuter train near the Forest Avenue crossing just west of the Downers Grove Main Street train station.
"The BNSF and the Downers Grove Police Municipality have open more tracks for trains to pass through the Downers Grove-Main Street area," an 11:16 a.m. update on Metra's website reads. "They are still working to open all of the tracks and it is anticipated that full service will be restored by 12:00 p.m."
11:14 a.m.
A male pedestrian was killed by an eastbound BNSF Metra commuter train near the Downers Grove Main Street train station Tuesday morning, Lt. Michael Willison of the Downers Grove Police Department said.
The male was hit near the Forest Avenue crossing, Willison said. The incident happened around 9:40 a.m., according to CBS Chicago.
Willison said the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, and an investigation is ongoing.
The lieutenant said it has not been determined yet what events led to the collision. The identity of the pedestrian has not been released.
In a separate incident Monday afternoon, a Clarendon Hills man was struck and killed by a commuter train near the West Hinsdale BNSF station. Hinsdale Police Chief Brad Bloom said in that case it appeared the man intentionally stood in front of the train.
Check back with Patch for updates.
10:41 a.m.
An inbound train involved in a "pedestrian incident" near the Downers Grove Main Street train station will not continue into Chicago, Metra reported online at 10:28 a.m.
Train 1262 was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 10:47 a.m., but the train has been terminated.
"The next inbound train making all scheduled stops to Chicago and accommodating passengers at Main Street will be train #1264," Metra's advisory reads. "Train #1264 is scheduled to arrive Chicago at 11:47 a.m."
Original story:
Metra has reported train delays Tuesday morning after another "pedestrian incident" near the Downers Grove Main Street train station.
"Train #1262, scheduled to depart Aurora at 9:20 a.m. and arrive Chicago at 10:47 a.m., is presently stopped at Downers Grove-Main Street due to a pedestrian incident," an advisory on Metra's website reads. "The train could be delayed 30 to 40 minutes. Updates will be posted as soon as more information becomes available."
Tuesday's incident comes after a Clarendon Hills man died Monday night after walking in front of a BNSF Metra train at the West Hinsdale train station.
Check back with Patch for updates.
Buford Pusser
11:32 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
There should be train signals and signs posted "No stupid crossing"
K Smith
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Please think before you speak. This boy had special needs.
Katie A
11:11 am on Friday, April 12, 2013
There are plenty of signs all around, people just choose to ignore them. If, in fact, this case did involve a special needs person, that's a separate issue, but I see people every single day ignore the signs and the gates, and run across the tracks when the gates are down. Apparently they think saving a couple seconds of waiting is worth risking their life. I'm actually surprised there aren't more train related deaths based on the number of times a day I see this happen. I wish there could be more police officers posted near the train tracks. I know they can't be everywhere, but it seems to be especially prevalent at the gates, so that would be a great place to start.
Kristen Scofield
11:58 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Isn't that the 3rd one within a week's time on the BNSF?
Theo Saint
12:04 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Pray for the train engineers who have to deal with this. How unfair for them.
Dave
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Agreed. Must be hard going to work knowing throwing yourself in front of a train is trending in the western 'burbs.
Rosa Pardonne
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Agree - Unfair. Selfish individuals walking intentionally in front of trains have no concern how this affects an engineer's life.
Chrissy
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Or witnesses. I re-posted this just two weeks ago, written by a friend whom I know has been haunted by the images of that day ever since. Please, help IS available, you are not alone.
http://downersgrove.patch.com/articles/may-4-2006
Dave
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
thanks for posting that link. Wow. Just wow,
H.I. McDunnough
2:09 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Yesterday and today....was there another incident recently?
Darren McRoy
2:16 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Yes, March 7 in Westmont.
Max Gruppy
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
It does no good to insult these people after they're dead, and any loss of life is tragic, but I agree the delays are getting to be a bit much. We need to offer these people an alternative. Is there a dangerous cliff or a very high bridge in the area?
Katie A
11:11 am on Friday, April 12, 2013
So you're saying it's inappropriate to insult people who have died "tragically" but it's totally ok to suggest alternate ways to kill themselves? Good Lord.
Julie Burke
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Metra has a very aggressive safety campaign and police departments occasionally monitor morning travelers. But neither can't prevent fools who are in such a hurry that they take foolish chances or those who choose to end their lives this way. It's a shame.
Mark
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
If this is the first time I've heard of Metra's "very aggressive" safety campaign, how aggressive is it? I ride the trains. I watch the news. Don't know about any "very aggressive" campaign.
Katie A
11:11 am on Friday, April 12, 2013
I agree. I ride the trains every day, and hear VERY little about safety measures. In fact, these are the same trains that routinely had doors open while traveling, and daily I'd hear the conductors say "The door won't close? Oh, just kick it a few times, it'll close eventually." Not that I'm blaming Metra for people walking in front of trains, but I'd hardly call them safety conscious.
Daniel W. Smith
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Oh, no. Not ANOTHER errant pedestrian!!! Can't you people use another train line? There are several flavors to choose from!! Different train stations. Look them up, please. Try the north and south lines. Maybe a Chicago elevated train. Different modes of performing your final act as well. Just donate your organs while you're still alive, okay?
Ania
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Look both ways. Twice. Take out any ear devices. Put away your phone. And look both ways again. Cross quickly.
There is no excuse for an accident. A suicide, however, is a different, and tragic, story.
Gerard Schilling
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Register all trains, ban any trains with more than 10 wheels, put a special tax on all people that use trains, demean and debase all train riders, add 25 cents to each gallon of train fuel and confiscate all trains because they may kill people who jump in front of them.
JF
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Funny how that "Logic" only works for those who want to justify gutting the Constitution.
Russ
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
+1
Mark
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
It’s always amazing, Gerry -- how when an issue actually effects the actual life of an actual conservative – how fast the constitution lovin’ half-truths and all the arcane rhetoric disappear, and logic and reasoning smacks said conservative square between the eyes.
Just ask Bob Portman. Just ask Dick Cheney. Just ask Jim Brady. Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera.
My only hope, Gerry, is that it doesn’t take a personal crisis for you and all you other Teabaggers to actually snap out of it and join the 21st Century. But usually that’s what it takes.
Ben D. Banana
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
They can do this when a nutjob engineer takes the train off the tracks and plows through a school.
Erik Bloecks
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Due to the recent Idiocy of commuters Maybe they should have crossing guards at the tracks like they have for Grade school children crossing the street when walking to school. I can not believe this happened in consecutive days.
Mark
7:29 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Clearly a failure on the part of the railroad companys and local law enforcement. The blood is on their hands.
Signs alone don't cut it, obviously. More/better fencing, more eyes at the scene, heavier fines for simple violations. Or people could just simply continue to shrug their shoulders and accept this.
Erik Bloecks
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
I would say this a human failure. Failure to stop at a crossing gate with flashing lights, failure to recognize your surroundings and failure to be patient. RR companies and Metra can only do so much. It is up to us to have the wherewithal to survive and follow simple instructions. Look. Listen. Live.
Michael Thomas
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Failure from the local law enforcement? What do you want the police to do, act like a crossing guard and tell people when to cross. These towns will not pay the money to properly staff a shift to protect the thousands of residents let alone pay a salary so that a police officer can tell you when to cross.
Why do people always try to put the blame on others when the victim is ultimately responsible for his/hers actions?
Dave
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Yeah, we need our government, local, state and federal, paid by taxes that are getting beyond outrageous, and a rail company to do that for us, Holy cow.
Russ
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
(1) flashing lights, (2) ringing bells in excess of 90 decibels), (3) the fact that a locomotive if 10 feet by 15 feet and sounds like--well--sounds like a diesel locomotive (>120 decibels at speed), (4) flashing lights on the locomotive, (5) a horn on the locomotive (in excess of 140 decibels), (6) propaganda posters on the trains and on the station, (7) a sign from the village indicating it is illegal and threatening fines ($500?), (8) a fence the prevents crossing between platforms, and (9) gates that physically block the crosswalk. Yes, you're right, it's not enough.
Mark
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
Regulations and law enforcement do not cure all ills. Those who are hell-bent on killing themselves will find a way. But not all train-pedestrian accidents are suicides. Better rail technology has enabled trains to run quieter. “Quiet Zones” around neighborhoods have forced trains to silence their horns. Unfortunately, when the public isn’t protected from itself, needless tragedy occurs.
And then we have this unfortunate fact that out here in Flyover Country, many downtowns are centered around their train stations. How quaint. But now you have the equivalent of major interstate highways running smack down the middle of gentrified sophistication. If I-355 literally smoked up and down through downtown Downers Grove, would there be more thought devoted to keeping the public safe?
But if it doesn’t directly affect you, why care, right?
Until then, the blood is on the hands of the rail services and local municipalities.
JAY JAY
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
MARK
Maybe the RRs should install electrified fences like farmers do to contain their animals, say 1000 volts. Would that make you happy ?
Mark
3:01 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Jay Jay -- YES!!!
Buford Pusser
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Mark you must be delusional!! How is the blood on the hands of the railroad or the Police. It isn't. It's solely the fault of the idiots going under the gate or trying to beat a train. There's where the fault is!
Buford Pusser
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
It's plain and simple. Stupid idiots that do stupid things. Clang clang, thud.
Timothy
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A failure on part of the railroad and police. Surely you must be joking. Maybe the villages with tracks should hire and stage an officer every 25 feet just in case someone tries to get onto the tracks. Too much money, yes I know. Hey, lets make the railroads enforce a strict 5 m.p.h. Speed restriction on all tracks. That should work. Honestly I can't believe I just read that statement. That is exactly the mentality that is ruining this country. Clearly for everything that happens there must be someone else to blame. WHAT A JOKE
J. Marie
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families of the three individuals who died these last two weeks at the BNSF tracks, Westmont, West Hinsdale and now Downers Grove Main Street and prayers to the individuals driving the trains. Having read the comments from the March 7th incident, I sincerely hope that people will consider the families of these people. It is tragic what has happened, no matter how it happened. People suffer from depression or have mental illnesses (in reference to the previous accident and claims that it was a suicide) and no one can possibly know what goes on in that individual's head. They have their own inner conflicts that they may not be able to control. If it was your own family member who suffered from such an illness, you would not write the cruel things I saw posted on the Westmont tragedy. My sympathies to all who suffered this loss.
Marion B
7:13 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Great post Gerard, and you speak of what this nation will become
JAY JAY
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
M-B re: Gerard Schillings comment..
Exactly, thanks to the ambulance chasing Lawyers in the USA.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
JAY JAY
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
A Thought........on par with some comments read here !
How many more deaths like this would we have if the 60 or 70 million
put out of work since THAT GUY was elected were commuting daily to a job?
Mark
3:01 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Great, a Glen Beck funadamentalist. Wonderful.
Susan Noble
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
WOW how incredibly tragic! So very sorry for the family my thoughts and prayers are with them and the ignorance on here is truly astounding. So sad that people can't be more respectful and refrain from the nasty and negative comments continually spoken this month regardless of circumstances a human life was lost a family has been broken forever. Compassion and kindness is what is needed here not Criticism. Our lives will continue this family has lost their world the way they knew it and it could so easily of been anyone of you or a member of your own family! They have not even suggested or said it or any of these accidents were even suicide. May God Bless this family and their loved ones comfort them in this most difficult of times. And for those of you that can't seem to fathom human kindness their is such a thing called seeds of compassion think you all need to grow some.
Sarah
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
I see commuters in Riverside, so eager to get across the tracks after getting off the train, walk across the tracks while the gates are still down. Some of us yell at them, but the looks we get, clearly state we are in the wrong. I have no desire to see an accident with a human/train.
Mark
3:01 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Conductors & policemen should be screaming at them and fining them.
Kim Kasallis
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
Timothy has it right, because someone else can always be blamed (and pay the price $) stupidity is acceptable in this country - and ruining it for those with common sense.
Russ
3:01 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Agreed.
JAY JAY
11:11 am on Friday, April 12, 2013
KIM K well said........
Your comment has described the LIBS to a "T" !!!!!
Kelly
12:43 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
First....thoughts & Prayers to all Families & Friends involved in these 3 tragic accidents......Second....SLOW DOWN....have you ever watched commuters??? It's like a cattle call at Union Station on a weeknight;-(;-(..,. People know exactly how much time they have to get to their train and some are like zombies....no expression on their faces just walk, walk, walk....and fast....don't get in their way......Third.....OBEY CROSSING GATES/BELLS/SIGNALS........don't just assume that the gates are down, lights are flashing because a Train is stopped at a station. And DO NOT DRIVE AROUND GATES THAT ARE DOWN.....THEY ARE DOWN FOR A REASON..........Whatever you have going on can Wait.......Make a phone call, reschedule, get off of your Bluetooth....STOP...LOOK...LISTEN........You only have 1 life......
JA
3:01 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
I wholeheartedly agree with J Marie and Susan, it's incredibly disheartening to read the terrible assumptions and judgements written in these comments. Please, before you comment publicly about something so sensitive, THINK! "T: Is it true, H: Is it helpful, I: Is it inspiring, N: Is it necessary, K: Is it kind"??? Thoughts and prayers go to all those personally affected by these tragic losses.