Western Railroad Discussion > Boy hit by freight train at West Chicago

There's a story on the news that a teenager was killed by a freight train at West Chicago. My question is this: Was it on EJ&E property?

Was a UP crew cause they are already in OS status for critical incident.

I know it was a UP Train but was the UP train on UP rails or EJ&E rails. The UP has trackage rights on the EJ&E.

According to today's Chicago Tribune, the accident happened when the westbound UP train hit the boy as he crossed the tracks bear Washington Street and Turner Court. This is on the UP Geneva Sub just west of the Metra West Chicago depot and east of the EJE crossing. The paper edition of the paper has a photo which confirms this.

This should be a link to Google Maps showing the overall site. The string of six light colored freight cars next to the triangular parkeing lot is approximately where the accident occured.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=west+chicago,+il&t=h&ll=41.883255,-88.205535&spn=0.005671,0.013336&t=h

Senseless.

Victim was probably attempting to cross the tracks at a place where no crosswalk exists. I believe there's still a tunnel by the old station, a short distance east. The fact that Turner Court was mentioned at all suggests that he was nowhere near the Washington Street crossing of the tracks.

(The alternative is that he was on the tracks for some reason without wanting to cross, which is even more stupid.)

CShaveRR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Senseless.
>
> Victim was probably attempting to cross the tracks
> at a place where no crosswalk exists. I believe
> there's still a tunnel by the old station, a short
> distance east. The fact that Turner Court was
> mentioned at all suggests that he was nowhere near
> the Washington Street crossing of the tracks.
>
> (The alternative is that he was on the tracks for
> some reason without wanting to cross, which is
> even more stupid.)


There is indeed a tunnel at the old Depot (now the West Chciago Chamber of Commerce, and in the general area).. however, when this happened yesterday, we had heard they this person laid downinfront of the train. I don't know if that is true or not, but this is what we were hearing yesterday shortly after it happened.