By Jon Hilkevitch, Dan P. Blake and Ryan Haggerty
Chicago Tribune
Copyright 2007 The Chicago Tribune
 AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast First responders treat passengers who were onboard an Amtrak train that plowed into the back of a freight train in Chicago Friday. At least five passengers were critically injured. |
CHICAGO — An Amtrak train coming into Chicago from Michigan slammed into the back of a freight train in a South Side rail yard today, injuring dozens, including at least five Amtrak employees who were reportedly in serious condition.
The slow-moving double-decker passenger train struck the back of a Norfolk Southern freight train that was sitting in a rail yard near 52nd Street, just west of Shields Avenue, around 11:30 a.m., officials said.
At a news conference, Chicago Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco said that of the dozens taken to hospitals, five were reported to be in critical condition and nine were in serious condition. He said another 30 were taken in good condition, meaning they had only “bumps and bruises,” and were able to walk off the train on their own.
Orozco said he expects the number of injured to increase to about 50 by day’s end. Amtrak officials said that the train’s engineer and assistant engineer were among the five employees who were injured. Officials had to use hydraulic cutting tools to get at people trapped inside the locomotive, which had run up on top of the back car of the freight train.
The rest of the Amtrak train was upright and on the rails.
At least 187 passengers and six crew members were on train No. 371, also known as the Pere Marquette, which was to arrive at Union Station at 10:30 a.m. after leaving Grand Rapids, Mich., at 7:35 a.m.
Norfolk Southern officials said the freight was waiting for a signal to move forward
“The freight train was on the track it was supposed to be on waiting for its signal,” said spokesman Rudy Husband. “The Amtrak train went into the rear of it.”
The freight train, consisting of 17 loaded cars and three empty cars, began its trip in Elizabeth, N.J., Husband said. It was destined for a rail yard in Chicago, he said.
It was not immediately clear whether one of the two trains missed a signal. The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to investigate, officials said.
Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said a heightened emergency response was called for the crash and firefighters initially were having trouble getting to the accident site. Passengers were being brought out on stretchers to a triage area near 52nd Street and Princeton Avenue, where some were lying on tarps and others were sitting down. One woman was wearing a neck brace.
A passenger on the train, 60-year-old Coert Vanderhill of Holland, Mich., said he was on his way to Chicago to help his children close on a condominium sale. The train was traveling about 15 to 20 m.p.h. when the crash happened, he said. Before the collision, he said, there was no braking or any other warning that something was wrong.
Vanderhill, who had a small cut to his nose, said most passengers were thrown forward into the seats. His wife was thrown to the floor.
After the crash, he said, many of the passengers had bloody faces and some were missing teeth. Langford said earlier in an interview with WGN-TV that firefighters were attempting to gain access to a conductor who may be in the train’s front car. Langford said most of the injuries would be in the front car and the first passenger car.
Some of the injured were taken to Stroger Hospital, including 24 who were transported in a CTA bus, hospital spokesman Sean Howard said. All were thought to have injuries that were not life-threatening. An undetermined number of passengers was expected to be treated at Northwestern Memorial and Mercy hospitals, among others.
Meanwhile, at Union Station, Shigeru Yokoyama of Boise, Idaho, was waiting to hear again from his wife, who had been in Michigan to visit her parents. The couple was planning on meeting back in Chicago today before flying out to Boise.
He had called to see how close she was, and she told him their train had crashed. “I called, and she was talking, and she said the train crossed something. She was upset and I couldn’t tell what she was saying,” Yokoyama said.
He said he heard talking in the background, but no screaming or crying. He said his wife had later text-messaged that she has “a bloody face.”
By mid-afternoon, emergency personnel were cleaning up diesel fuel that spilled from the Amtrak locomotive and off-loading remaining fuel from the engine, officials said.
Dozens of investigators were on the scene preserving evidence while waiting for the NTSB to arrive from Washington. Other agencies involved are the Federal Railroad Administration and the Illinois Commerce Commission, as well as Amtrak and Norfolk Southern.
Specialized teams were being set up to focus on mechanical issues, rail operating practices, track signals, engineering and human factors, officials said.
People seeking information about family members or friends who were on the Amtrak train can call Amtrak at 800-523-9101.
The American Red Cross said family members or friends can also call 312-729-6200 for medical information on train passengers.
Tribune staff reporters James Janega, Kristen Kridel and Tina Shah contributed to this report.