Collision derails Metra train: ‘I have never been in so much shock’ - chicagotribune.com
“A Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line train collided with a semi-tractor trailer truck in Mount Prospect this morning, killing the truck driver and causing the front train car to derail, officials said.”
Pictures:
Metra train collides with truck - chicagotribune.com
No word on if the gate system was functioning or not.
Interesting how lirttle damage there is to the cabcar. Especially considering the truck was loaded.
The location of Mount Prospect is quite a ways from Fox River Grove (where the school bus was hit).
Mount Prospect is about MP 18, whereas Fox River Grove is about MP 36.
The configuration of the road crossing and road intersection is all too common across the country. Highway parallels railroad and cross street crosses railroad and its traffic is subordinate to traffic on the Highway…there are thousands of these types of crossing across the country…accidents waiting to happen.
And now there has been word.
Truck driver in fatal Metra collision had dozens of traffic violations - chicagotribune.com
“A truck hauling chunks of concrete made an illegal left turn and drove around crossing gates before slamming into a Metra train in Mount Prospect this morning, officials say. Police say he apparently disregarded a “No Left Turn” sign as well as downed gates and crossing lights, and crossed into the northbound lanes of Mount Prospect Road to get around the northern gate.'”
Wow.
Great job by all the crew and the first responders in getting everyone out safely. Initial reports said the hogger was critical, but from what I heard, he was not as bad as what the media said.
I did a double take when I saw the cab car number, as that set of equipment cycles through for one of my trains on the West Line two or three times a week. Despite the derailment, I was quite suprised at how well the cars, with the cab car in particular, held up at impact given the weight of that truck. Might have been a different story though had they plowed into the loaded trailer.
Just thankful everyone out there is ok.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/3206773986/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/3206771012/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/3213620387/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/3206879434/
http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/
http://shapirophotography.net/Rescues/2011/MTPR-DESP%205-13/index.html
http://www.justin.tv/radioman911/b/285796442
Yes and the driver had a spotty record.
Well, according to the local newspaper, the truck driver who caused this was a “Victim” of the wreck.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110513/news/705139910/
I could be wrong, but I kind of look at him as more of a “Villain” - if that train would have hit the trailer loaded with broken up concrete instead of the tractor things could have been a whole lot worse. 'Course his son said the “Victim” was “a very safe driver”.
I work with alot of great nice guys…that make my job twice as hard because i have to watch out for their stupid mistakes.
Doesn’t make any difference how nice or how mean you are, what happens happens.
I agree with ken. The truck driver was clearly a villain. From the Trib article:
"The driver of a semi truck who injured three dozen commuters when he turned into the path of a Metra train Friday had accumulated more than 50 traffic citations since 1986 but hadn’t lost his license.
None of the infractions, including a 2000 drunken-driving arrest, triggered the suspension of the commercial driver’s license of driver Kazimierz Karasek, who was killed in the fiery wreck in Mount Prospect. He was properly licensed, officials said, when he disobeyed a no-turn sign and drove around crossing gates."
The worst previous accident at that intersection also involved a truck going around the lowered gate.
The driver’s “spotty” record had more than FIFTY citations for things like drunk driving, speeding, improper lane usage, etc., etc. and he was STILL driving…according to a Chicago Tribune article this morning. They called him the “poster boy” for losign ones license…amen to that! This was no accident…the moronic truck driver deliberately made an illegal left hand turn and then he went around the lowered crossing gates and cost his own life and almost a bunch of others that were injured.
If his son says that, despite his father’s 50 citations, he was a “safe” driver, then this must be a new useage for the word “safe” that I am not aware of.
What a zipperhead!
First off, my prayers are with the truck driver’s family.[:'(] My thoughts also go out to the commuters and the injuries they may have incurred from this accident.
I also agree that the cab car was in pretty decent shape (from the front end) for colliding with that truck. granted, it hit the tractor not the concrete-filled trailer.
I’d say from the looks of that cab car, they are darn lucky they stopped when they did. Much farther and I’d say it would of toppled over and brought the remaining cars with it. The angle of tilt on that cab car is pretty impressive. Looks like those cab cars are constructed pretty well.
-Justin
I believe this is the intersection’s coordinates:
N 42.05632 W 87.92130
Plug those in to your favorite satellite image viewer. I used to live in that area and have driven through that intersection countless times. I think it was some time in the 1990’s that the little jog in the road and the separate turn lanes were installed on Prospect Ave. (the road running NW to SE on the south side of the tracks)
It has been awhile since I’ve been there, but the intersections on either side of the tracks are traffic light controlled. I believe there are “No Left Turn” lights/signs that illuminate when the crossing gates and lights are activated. Otherwise, a left turn from Prospect Ave. to north bound Mount Prospect Rd. (the North/South road) is allowed with the corresponding green light. This is the left turn I think the truck driver made.
Unfortunately, drivers with numerous violations are not a rarity on our roads and highways. As one who spent over 40 years in traffic work, I’ve learned that there are just too many vehicles and not enough law enforcement.
And even if these people lose their license, they keep driving. It’s a vicious cycle and there is no sign of any improvement anythimnt soon.
Disregarding the traffic and railroad signals is more likely than any terrorist attack.
There has to be more off-the-road reminders to large truck drivers about railroad collisions.
Andrew
Check out this story from WLS TV in Chicago http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=8130078. Darwin Award for the truck driver anyone?
crossing definitely a candidate for grade separation based on accident stats??