Story URL: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=41017
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Metra train kills woman
by
Elisabeth Kilpatrick
July 18, 2007
Operation Lifesaver's rail safety tips
- Cross tracks ONLY at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings.
- It can take a mile or more to stop a train, so a locomotive engineer who suddenly spots you ahead has little chance to miss you. Railroad property is private property. For your safety, it is illegal to be there unless you are at a designated public crossing.
- Trains overhang the tracks by at least three feet in both directions and loose straps hanging from rail cars may extend even further. If you are in the right-of-way next to the tracks, you can be hit by the train.
- Do not cross the tracks immediately after a train passes. A second train might be blocked by the first. Trains can come from either direction. Wait until you can see clearly around the first train in both directions.
- Flashing red lights signal that a train is approaching from either direction. You can be fined for failure to obey these signals. Never walk around or behind lowered gates at a crossing.
- Be aware trains do not follow set schedules. Any Time is Train Time!
A 45-year-old woman was struck and killed by a Metra train early Wednesday on the Northwest Side, authorities said. Her name was withheld pending notification of the family.
Metra spokesman Patrick Waldron said it is not yet clear why the woman was on the tracks of a Milwaukee District West Line near McLean and Natchez avenues as the train approached the Galewood station.
The death came at a time when pedestrian fatalities at Illinois railroad crossings are decreasing, according to Chip Pew, state coordinator for the Illinois Operation Lifesaver program. He said fthere were four pedestians killed in 2006 compared to 12 in the previous year.
Pew attributed the drop to “a combination of things,” including increased enforcement of traffic warning signs and more public service announcements about rail safety.
In 2005, new pedestrian warning signs were posted at four Metra stations, including Galewood, as part of a joint safety program between Metra, the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Illinois Operation Lifesaver program.
“I think the best combination [for preventing rail accidents] is the three E’s,” Pew said. “Education about rail safety, some engineering elements such as the signage or flashing bells or gates, and then enforcement, for those people who just don’t get the message.”
“If people aren’t going to take care of their own safety we need to do what we need to do to keep them alive,” Pew said.
A person who witnessed the accident was taken to Our Lady of Resurrection Hospital for observation, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Richard Rosado said. He said the witness was "pretty shaken up."
The fatality caused train delays between 15 and 30 minutes, according to Waldron.
