At Least 1 Dead, Dozens Injured In Metra Derailment

Some Passengers Taken Away In Stretchers

POSTED: 9:14 am CDT September 17, 2005

UPDATED: 11:11 am CDT September 17, 2005

CHICAGO -- The Cook County medical examiner's office says at least one person is dead after a Metra train derailment on the city's South Side.

Fire department spokesman Larry Langford says dozens of people were injured, some critically. He says the city is asking for assistance from suburban emergency response teams.

The first two cars of train No. 504 could be seen sitting about a 100 feet away from the rest of the train.

They were tilted off the track.

At least 20 ambulances, 12 fire trucks, and about 10 police squad cars were on the scene at about 9:15 a.m.

Some passengers were being treated on the scene. No information was immediately available on which hospital the injured were being taken to.

Passengers could be seen sitting on the side of the train next to the tracks.

Stephanie Smith, who was sitting in the second car in the upper tier, said she heard brakes screeching, then the train came to a halt.

"I just went flying into the safety seat bar and fell to the ground," said Smith, a master's student at DePaul University, told the newspaper. "We were skidding out of control. Weaving back and forth. People were weeping and screaming."

Cement appeared to have crumbled off the bridge at 47th and Federal Streets, where the train was stopped.

Firefighters were raising ladders to the elevated track. There was a 30-foot gap between two rail cars, and several broken windows.