A rock flew through a running Metra train window, shattering glass and injuring its conductor Sunday afternoon.
It appears that someone threw a rock at the northbound train just before the 87th Street station, shattering a window directly near the train’s engineer about 11:40 a.m., according to Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile.
When police arrived, they were unable to find anyone who might have been the suspected rock thrower, Reile said.
The incident occurred on Metra’s Electric Line – which was running northbound on the Southeast Side from 93rd Street the Millennium Park Station – and delayed the train for about an hour, Reile said.
The train was held up as a new engineer was located to operate it, while the original engineer was taken to an area hospital in an unknown condition. His injuries were believed to be non-life threatening, Reile said.
The train running northbound was only a couple minutes away from its second stop when the incident happened. The train is running again as of 12:40 p.m., and is running about 50-55 minutes behind, Reile said.
The delay will likely cause the returning southbound train to be delayed as well, Reile said.
A South Chicago District police officer did not have any information on the incident as of 1 p.m.
Not a chance–those kids, regardless of what they did, were railfans and unlikely to resort to things like that.
The rockthrowers are just a bunch of low-lifes who had no thought of the death or injury they might cause, and regard trains as little more than a moving target.
Please excuse the emotion here–but I can tell you from experience that it’s no thrill being in a cab or passenger compartment when a rock hits a window (or anything else, for that matter).
However, in this (indeed most) cases of rock throwers, there is very little a crew member can do to prevent this from happening. Not too likely a crew member would ever be allowed open the window to pop a cap in some scum-suckers butt (unfortunately).
Many years ago (in the "good-old-days of the 70s) many crew members where I worked carried a “wrist rocket” (a type of slingshot) along with a few pounds of iron ore pellets. And we did shoot back when we were able to (I even nailed of few of them low-life maggots myself).
Sadly, in most cases, the crew members do not even see who threw the rocks. The perps usually hide in bushes or behind other structures. The other favorite of the lets-hurt-the train-crew types is to hang dense objects from overhead structures such as bridges, signal towers, etc. The object would be hung such that it was at cab-window height,and the perps would wait for the train to come and run into the object. We learned early on to be on alert for hanging debris anytime we approached an overhead structuure.
I had frequent discussions with the non-slingshot-carrying types about the that possible negative effect firing back might have. Granted, in some cases the perp might be so surprised and scared by being shot at himself that he might reconsider ever doing it again. But the other possibility was that some perps might be angered by not being able to get their fix of wanton violence, or worse–be bested in front of his associate’s by the train crew, and decide to try again later…this time better armed.
It is now a moot point as rails are not allowed to defend themselves while trying to make a living. And to expect that the railroad police will do anything, or even COULD do anything to prevent this from happening is as silly as expecting the city police to do an
Sounds like something that happened here. A conductor got hit with a rock past Stevens Creek Road in Martinez, Georgia. Conductor was hit and recovered later on. Still unknown who threw it. He was in CSX 700 in 1998.
It seems to me that once upon a time, locomotives in the NE corridor had screens over their windshields to protect them from this sort of thing.
I am SO pleased to see such an eloquent desire to turn downtown America into a free fire zone. We ought to be right up there with say, Bagdad, with that kind of philosophy. I haven’t heard about any increase in courtesy there, and pretty much everyone is armed.
It makes my heart go ever so much faster to know America’s engineers and conductors have received weapons training in how to hit moving targets while they themselves are moving.
If you have read other posts on the roles of police, you will understand that your coworkers don’t want you to have a cop come up into YOUR locomotive. They certainly don’t want you giving up any kind of information that is required. And if you listen to half of them, the city cops that you want to preserve and protect you don’t have any juristiction over you. That’s up to the railroad cops. Oh, and sorry, but you don’t seem to think much of them either.
I don’t empathize with rock throwers or debris dumpers or anyone else vandalizing property or people. They are criminals. They need to be caught, put in the system, and held responsible for what they do.
Taking the law into your own hands is vigilantism. It might be emotionally satisfying, but it is still illegal. And I have to wonder how much thought you have given about shooting back and taking the responsibility for hitting someone or something other than your intended target?
You’ve responded with a red blooded, All American response. But you didn’t stop to think how your actions might play out. Are you ready to go to jail for them? Self defense usually involves taking actions (including, I might add, lethal action) against a threat. It does not include firing blindly into a city street or into the countryside.
It seems to me that once upon a time, locomotives in the NE corridor had screens over their windshields to protect them from this sort of thing.
I am SO pleased to see such an eloquent desire to turn downtown America into a free fire zone. We ought to be right up there with say, Bagdad, with that kind of philosophy. I haven’t heard about any increase in courtesy there, and pretty much everyone is armed.
It makes my heart go ever so much faster to know America’s engineers and conductors have received weapons training in how to hit moving targets while they themselves are moving.
If you have read other posts on the roles of police, you will understand that your coworkers don’t want you to have a cop come up into YOUR locomotive. They certainly don’t want you giving up any kind of information that is required. And if you listen to half of them, the city cops that you want to preserve and protect you don’t have any juristiction over you. That’s up to the railroad cops. Oh, and sorry, but you don’t seem to think much of them either.
I don’t empathize with rock throwers or debris dumpers or anyone else vandalizing property or people. They are criminals. They need to be caught, put in the system, and held responsible for what they do.
Taking the law into your own hands is vigilantism. It might be emotionally satisfying, but it is still illegal. And I have to wonder how much thought you have given about shooting back and taking the responsibility for hitting someone or something other than your intended target?
You’ve responded with a red blooded, All American response. But you didn’t stop to think how your actions might play out. Are you ready to go to jail for them? Self defense usually involves taking actions (including, I might add, lethal action) against a threat. It does not include firing blindly into a city street or
I won’t address Iraq except to say that I have relatives over there who think a lot differently than you do. It might have something to do with observing the rather strange increase in what you call courtesy, up close and personal. They don’t have your happy detachment of risking your life and limb in the jungle of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I’d love to forward your wishes to trade spots with them, and I’m sure that you will no doubt be placed in a position to report the truth on the increase of Miss Manner’s M-16 etiquette in Bagdad.
Police do have a responsibility to conduct crime prevention. As a cop, I spent more than a few hours on something called “traffic accident deterrence”, which is another way of saying I spend a lot of time being very visible on the side of a road slowing people down, or doing DUI checkpoints. And yes, if I saw a bunch of kids hanging over the edge of a bridge doing “nothing”, I’d stop and ask them what they WERE doing. Am I hassling them? Nope. I am letting THEM know that I have seen them and I will probably keep watching for them. That’s crime prevention. (God help me if they are railfans. Then I have gone from protecting and serving to being a trampler of Constitutional rights.)
You mentioned “self defense”. So did I. The law is fairly clear about self defense across the country. You can take action against a specific threat that threatens YOU or (in some states) your property, or the lives of others. However, YOU said that the primary responsibility of a train crew is the safety of their passengers and/or freight. I would suspect that an engineer or conductor who has just caught a rock in the cab has better things to do to insure that safety than to engage in a fire fight. Stopping the train is probably a good idea. Getting help for the injured crew
And I also have immediate family that is in Iraq right now. Is it a war? Yes. Are people dying? Yes. Should we throw up our hands and declare defeat by withdrawing to Okinawa? No. Do families that have lost loved ones agree that withdrawing from the theater somehow makes their loss more worthwhile? Are we cheapening the lives of the soldiers who have died by withdrawing now because the latest poll says we should? And you can forward that sentiment to everyone you like. I know some marines that would love to hear from you and the rest of the people who have no idea of what fighting a war is like. Let’s not get into this, it will go nowhere and we will convince each other of nothing.
[quote]
Police do have a responsibility to conduct crime prevention. As a cop, I spent more than a few hours on something called “traffic accident deterrence”, which is another way of saying I spend a lot of time being very visible on the side of a road slowing people down, or doing DUI checkpoints. And yes, if I saw a bunch of kids hanging over the edge of a bridge doing “nothing”, I’d stop and ask them what they WERE doing. Am I hassling them? Nope. I am letting THEM know that I have seen them and I will probably keep w
solzrules, I agree on pretty much everything. the police aren’t there to prevent crime. That’s our jobs as civilians. the job of the police is to investigate , arrest, and detain(punish) criminals. That’s why the constitution allows us to bear arms. OK, it’s actually more about retalliation against a tyrannicla gov. and a first line defense against invasion, but also, clearly written, as the rite to defend personal property, freedom, and life (until the police, or Army, arrive)! Noone can attest to the horror and hardships of war sitting a home. Even soldeirs have a hard time attesting to it. It must be undescribale ( I havn’t been in the military, obviously, but have MANY relatives who have. I was turned down because I was a HS dropout, now they’d love me. Go figure.) The US railway system survives mainly becuase of the US militaries love for it. It was, and still is, the BEST way for the US Army (and Marines) to move men and equiptment. In times of war, all railroad employees are allow to carry weapons since the civil war. the war in Iraq is “officially” over, but the war on terroism is not. It’s time gangbanger’s (who think they are the modern, organized mafia) to realize they supporting this [censored]. The Mafia, the Irish Mob(IRA) andeven the Russian and polish syndacite realized in WWI and WWII realized it was time to support the US goverment, not it’s enemies.
Thanks much, and my wife and I both love your sig!!!
(Interesting take on the mafia et al, I might add. I supppose it is true though, if you think about it. The anarchists and socialists were huge fans of the US in WWII until the US won. Then, and to this day, they remain enemies.)
Alright, so as a cop what crime prevention would you do to stop these type of incidents here?
Asked and answered. Read the full para. Since you didn’t the first time, here it is:
“if I saw a bunch of kids hanging over the edge of a bridge doing “nothing”, I’d stop and ask them what they WERE doing. Am I hassling them? Nope. I am letting THEM know that I have seen them and I will probably keep watching for them. That’s crime prevention. (God help me if they are railfans. Then I have gone from protecting and serving to being a trampler of Constitutional rights.)”
You might also consider why it is that on some overpasses there are nice, tall fences that curve inwards. It’s to prevent exactly what you were talking about. I know it doesn’t exactly meet the proactive standards you seem to think Drs. Smith and Wesson would handle better, but it works.
Didn’t I just read a thread regarding a LIRR train that stopped because of some poeple standing on the tracks? And didn’t those people pound the tar out of the engineer? I suppose in that instance self-defense isn’t justified?
You’ve changed the subject from simple rock throwing to the taking of Pelham 1-2-3. I can cite chapter and verse of hypothetical scenarios and real world cases where the lethal use of self defense is justified. Catching a rock in the cab ain’t one of them. Stick to subject.
You may be interested in knowing that I spent 14 years, enlisted and officer, in Uncle Sam’s big green machine, including duty in Desert Storm. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I do know something about fighting war.
Dang-it! You’ve found me out. I only read the first scentence of peoples’ responses and that’s all my small brain can take. Smoke starts to come out from my ears.
And so by letting the kids know you are ‘watching’ them you have safely avoided …what, exactly? Being that you are a cop, I am sure I don’t need to remind you that kids are smart enough to wait until you can’t see them. How many criminals do you know that engage in their criminal behavior in full sight of law enforcement? That’s my point. You can’t be everywhere at once, but the victim of a crime is always wherever a crime occurs. What’s wrong with empowering the vicitm to fight back? If you think about it, the victim of a crime is the first person to defend him or herself.
I am not saying that cops are at fault for anything here, and like any profession there are bad apples mixed in with the good ones. I know that holds true for my industry. This is more about tactics at preventing incidents like this.
And, of course, in the grand scheme of things, if the parents were on the ball with their kids the cops wouldn’t really have to do anything. If I threw a rock at a train (or anything for that matter) I know my dad would’ve firmly planted his foot right were the sun don’t shine. Just like I will with my kids.
