Truck Rams Into Chicago Train Station, Killing 2 (11 in critical condtn, includg 4 children)

New York Times ^ | April 26, 2008 | By SUSAN SAULNY

[bd476]

A tractor-trailer careened into a busy local train station here during the evening rush hour on Friday, killing two people and injuring nearly two dozen others just south of downtown in Chinatown.

Witnesses described hearing a deafening screech then the tremendous roar of the truck slamming into the street-level waiting area of the elevated train station, a bustling stop on the Red Line which runs a north-south route through the downtown Loop. The truck crashed through the glass front of the station, Cermak-Chinatown, and caused the escalators to collapse.

Eleven people, four of them children, were in critical condition and being treated at area hospitals. In addition, 10 people were hurt but in stable condition, the authorities said.

A fire official said that the truck had pinned several people between it and the escalators and that a few of the injured had to be pried loose of the metal machinery.

"It happened so fast," said Lip Chong, a restaurant worker who heard the ruckus and ran to the scene just after the crash. "My friend saw the truck, like a bowling ball, go right into the stop. My God, it was terrible."

Fire and police officials on the scene said the elevated portion of the station, including the train tracks, remained structurally sound... ...after an initial inspection, did not appear to suffer damage. Power to the tracks was cut off in the immediate aftermath of the collision but was later restored. Within hours, trains were slowly passing over the station again.

As of Friday night, the authorities said they did not know what caused the driver of truck to lose control of the vehicle...

[bd476]

Someone said that as of now they're viewing this as a tragic accident. As more information comes in they should be able to determine what caused the truck to plow into the train station.

A truck careening into a crowded train station doesn't happen everyday, so perhaps that's why the New York Times is covering this Chicago accident.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The weather in Chicago today made for difficult driving. It was raining intermittently and visibility on the roads was poor.

I've been through this intersection a few times myself.

Anyone who knows where McCormick Place in Chicago would understand that this accident site is just a few blocks away to the west.

Cermak is 22nd Street south of downtown and runs east and west.

[bd476]

NotJustAnotherPrettyFace wrote: "The weather in Chicago today made for difficult driving. It was raining intermittently and visibility on the roads was poor.

I've been through this intersection a few times myself.

Anyone who knows where McCormick Place in Chicago would understand that this accident site is just a few blocks away to the west.

Cermak is 22nd Street south of downtown and runs east and west."

Thanks NotJustAnotherPrettyFace. I thought that inclement weather was the norm for Chicago during this time of the year.

Perhaps there was ongoing road construction, or some change in the intersection. It also might be that the truck malfunctioned or perhaps the driver had never driven in the area.

Prayers extended for all.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Link to the graphic of the truck's path.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi080425ctacrash-gfx,0,5090023.graphic

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Excerpted paragraphs from the latest update:

The truck driver limped out of the hospital in police custody late Friday. A Stroger Hospital spokesman identified him as Don Wells, 51. A police source confirmed the name of the driver. Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said he had not been charged.

Wells was treated at Stroger Hospital, said hospital spokesman Sean Howard. Also treated at Stroger were a 26-year-old woman, a 14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. The boy was released; the woman was listed in stable condition, and the girl had multiple injuries.

Wells refused the doctor's advice and asked to be released, in part because he didn't have health insurance, Howard said. He was handcuffed and escorted by police to a waiting police wagon.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I was coming home from work when this story was breaking and listening to this unfold over the all-news radio station.

The scary part that really got me was how the head of the Emergency Team spoke as to their levels of dealing with this. Their first response level is to send out 7 ambulances. Then the level was escalated and they called out 7 more. Then the level was escalated yet again and they called out 7 more additional ambulances.

I'm very thankful (and admittedly selfishly so) that I was not driving through this intersection at this time, which I usually do a couple times a week in the course of my job. There but for the Grace of God go I.