Driver Escapes Injury When Train Hits SUV
NORTH CHICAGO (STMW) -- A woman who had the railroad crossing gate come down on her SUV while traveling westbound Friday in North Chicago escaped injury when a freight train clipped her vehicle.
The accident at Route 41 backed up traffic on Buckley Road around 6 a.m. and the delay lasted about three hours as officials with the Union Pacific Railroad wanted to make sure none of the train cars had been knocked off the rails. There were three locomotives and 135 empty coal cars.
"They just needed to make sure none of them derailed," said North Chicago Police Cmdr. George McClary.
Metra said there were no delays during the morning commute as the train was on a freight-only line.
The woman was afraid to move her vehicle once the railroad gate came down on top of it and the train "just clipped the front of it," McClary said.
Traffic resumed around 9 a.m., authorities said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
