Anyone remember this? Woman vs train in Downers Grove 1991. GRAPHIC VID, kinda
- Thread starter cobraj
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I bet she didn't even really have time to feel much. That much weight at 60mph, I'm surprised that I didn't see body parts flying...though given the resolution of a 1991 camera, it might not have been captured.
I'll never understand how people don't check if EACH track they cross is without train. She might have just been assuming a train on that track would have only been coming from the right.
I'll never understand how people don't check if EACH track they cross is without train. She might have just been assuming a train on that track would have only been coming from the right.
She had to be out instantly. The only thing I can think is the other train was running (noise) and she just didnt see the express coming. Says she was speaking to her lawyer next to her about her divorce case. So focused on that she just kept walking. Ex husband got off easy.
One of the unique things done by Metra on the BNSF line (it is not a practice done on any other Metra line) is that ability to "Jump" with the express trains out west, primarily to Naperville/Aurora. Hence the "BNSF racetrack" on the beginning sections after they turn west out of Union Station. Meaning on every other line, each train follows in sequence down the line based on the schedule. I remember there being discussion about doing away with that after this incident. The train stopped on main 1 with it's engines up to maintain head end power even when stopped, masked out the oncoming E9 even though it was blowing it's horn.
Yes, Fairview crossing.
For the Russian lathe fans on here, if you slow playback down to .25 speed and pause it a the moment of impact, you can see how it twists/shoves/contorts her hips out from under her legs, then let it continue playing, I think you see parts start flying, like eyeballs that a few people think got knocked out. The railfan filming it was there to film one of the final runs of the E9 locomotives before retirement, had his leg broken from the impact of her body flung through him, hitting an electrical box behind him.
For the Russian lathe fans on here, if you slow playback down to .25 speed and pause it a the moment of impact, you can see how it twists/shoves/contorts her hips out from under her legs, then let it continue playing, I think you see parts start flying, like eyeballs that a few people think got knocked out. The railfan filming it was there to film one of the final runs of the E9 locomotives before retirement, had his leg broken from the impact of her body flung through him, hitting an electrical box behind him.
Further things I'm remembering from this. The engineer/conductor in the cab, didn't even know they had hit someone it happened so fast as they went around the stopped train and wasn't a direct hit (as you can see it was a hit off the corner of the locomotive), it wasn't until police got ahold of Metra dispatch and they radio'd the train to stop. They (police), then asked the train to back up to the incident to recreate it for the investigation.
It's been a while since I had seen this unedited. Oof. That good ol' E9 though. 
Also, the true Chicago folks must not have watched the video yet. Even I was annoyed by the narrator saying "Downers Grove, Chicago"
Also, the true Chicago folks must not have watched the video yet. Even I was annoyed by the narrator saying "Downers Grove, Chicago"
I remember us hitting a person on my morning commute in one day in Lombard. A person you don't feel. To the train it's like hitting a water balloon. What we DID feel was the engineer slamming on the brakes.
IIRC correctly, the hit took place around Elizabeth St., and at ~60mph we didn't stop until we were up by the St. Charles road crossing. So yea, not much this engineer above would've even been able to do in that split second had he seen it.
IIRC correctly, the hit took place around Elizabeth St., and at ~60mph we didn't stop until we were up by the St. Charles road crossing. So yea, not much this engineer above would've even been able to do in that split second had he seen it.
It pays to have situational awareness... How someone can just walk on busy tracks like that and not look both ways. Sad, but no ones fault but hers.
In other words, a lemming
In other words, a lemming
That E9(AM), the locomotive that hit that lady, would be retired by BN/Metra that next year. It would be sold off to MARC to work in commuter service in the DelMarVa region. Then it would make its way back to Chicagoland, under Ed Ellis' Iowa Pacific/San Luis and Rio Grande/Chicago Terminal Railway aka IOU Pacific Holdings regime. They went bankrupt a few years ago and this locomotive is still sitting stripped and abandoned in one of the industrial parks near O'Hare, either in Bensenville or Elk Grove VIllage.
Solid first post, train man. I don't ever recall seeing one of the old EMD designs in person. I have a windshield and bell and serial plate for one in my basement. I'd love to see the whole package in real life, and now I want to explore that industrial park!
There was a blind guy and seeing eye dog that rode my train (rock island Metra) every day, and he was telling a story about how his wife was blind too, got a new seeing eye dog, and the dog had her standing too close to the edge of the platform. The train came in and hit both her and the dog and killed her.
abc7chicago.com
Visually impaired woman with guide dog fatally struck by Metra train in Midlothian
A visually impaired woman with a guide dog who was fatally struck Monday night by a Metra train at a crossing in Midlothian.
abc7chicago.com
you train nerds crack me up. The E9 that struck this lady is awaiting restoration at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum.
here is the abandoned one in Bensenville
here is the abandoned one in Bensenville
E9 history and specs
www.american-rails.com
EMD "E9" Locomotives, The End Of An Era
The E9 saw only marginal sales as rail travel was losing interest among the public. It was the final model in the series with several preserved today.
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