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Report Slams Railway In Accident That Killed Woman

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Katie Ann Lunn

Dance instructor Katie Ann Lunn was killed by an oncoming train in 2010. (Credit: CBS)

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. (CBS) — A final report has been issued on a highly publicized train accident that killed a Chicago woman two years ago.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports, the report from the Federal Railroad Administration claims that a Canadian National railway track crew was not in compliance with work-hour limits designed to reduce human error, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Conway reports


The Railroad Administration report found the crew accidentally disabled the crossing gates and warning lights at the Steunkel Road crossing in University Park on April 16, 2010.

Katie Lunn, 26, was killed when her SUV was hit by an Amtrak train traveling at 78 mph.

The report also raised questions about the failure to test one track crew member for drugs or alcohol following the crash, and cites nearly a dozen rules violations, the Tribune reported.

Lunn taught at the Joffrey Ballet School in Chicago and the School of Performing Arts in Naperville. She also danced with the Hip Hop Connxion and the Chicago Dance Theater.

She was returning home from watching her students perform the night she died.

Canadian National admitted liability, and the Lunn family received a $6 million settlement earlier this month.

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  • Roberta Waker

    Thank Chicago for their pressure to approve the CN RR purchase from EJ&E. CN has made our lives a living hell in the suburbs with additional trains, delays, congestion; not to mention the noise from the horns blasting at all hours of the night and early morning. With all the problems being created by CN; this is only the beginning and it will get much worse. Glad Lunn’s family was able to get some compensation, but it won’t bring this lovely woman back.

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