Semi Truck Plows Into Chicago Train Station, 2 Dead, Several Injured
April 25, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
A fire department spokesman two people are dead and more than a dozen others injured after a tractor trailer crashed into the stairwell of a Chicago Transit Authority station during rush hour.
Spokesman Larry Langford says the two women killed Friday apparently were walking near the Cermak-Chinatown Red Line elevated train station on the city’s South Side when the collision occurred. They were dead at the scene, Fire Department spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez said.
Eighteen people were transported to area hospitals, Rodriguez said. Seven adults and four children were in critical condition, five adults were in stable condition and two adults were in good condition.
Rodriguez did not know the driver’s condition, or whether the driver was injured.
Witnesses say the truck didn’t appear to slow down before it plowed into the station.
Chicago police say the accident happened about 5:20 p.m.
WBBM reports the tractor trailer truck crashed into the north stairwell of the station, where an escalator carries passengers up to the elevated platform. The crash appears to have caused extensive damage. The truck remains jammed underneath the tracks.
“We’re working right now to get into the wreckage to find out if there are any more victims in there, triage anyone we find and deal with the medical situation,” said Fire department spokesperson Larry Langford. “And also we’re dealing with the structural integrity of the CTA platforms and the glass walls and whatnot that are around the station.”
“It’s going to take a little time to get to anyone that’s in there, but we’re moving as fast as we can,” Langford added.
Witness Maury said, “I was standing across the street from the entrance to the CTA elevated trains on Cermak, for the Cermak/Chinatown stop. Then, as I looked back towards the entrance of the train station, I saw this tractor trailer truck, and I think the company name is Xtra, he either was coming off the Dan Ryan Expressway or the Stevenson, headed north and you’re supposed to make the left on Cermak. He just, like he was out of control, went straight ahead to the base of where the escalator is to the train station.”
Authorities are still trying to confirm the cause of the accident.
