11-Year-Old Boy Hit By Train Near Bus Stop In Blue Island
BLUE ISLAND, Ill. (CBS) -- A Metra train hit a boy in south suburban Blue Island right by the train station and a school bus stop.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports the 11-year-old boy's leg was severed in the accident. He was apparently heading to the school bus stop.
"He was screaming," said parent Tiffany Oliver. "He was hopping, trying to hop across and then he collapsed."
A Metra spokesperson says this avoidable tragedy deeply affects everyone at Metra especially those with children.
The boy attends Burr Oak Elementary in Calumet Park. The district superintendent Elizabeth Reynolds says, "Our prayers are with the student and his family. He is recuperating and doing well."
Parents picking kids up at the bus stop Tuesday afternoon and those living in the area say more needs to be done to keep kids safe.
"I still think they need some crossing guards out there or something because there are so many kids out here in the morning," said Oliver.
"Have either more bus stops or change where this bus stop is," said Rockeal King. "This is very dangerous."
Tymesha Foy lives near the scene of the accident and says that a few times she has seen kids race to beat the train to get to the bus.
"That's always the case because they feel that they are invincible and the train can't hit them," Foy said. "They just need to wait for the train."
Metra says thousands of kids receive the message "when gates go down, don't go around: each year through their life saver program presentations and poster and essay contests. On a day like today, that message cannot be stressed enough.
