FOREST PARK, IL – Over 30 passengers passengers were injured on Monday, September 30, after an out of service CTA commuter train got loose and then crashed into another train in Forest Park, IL. Forest Park is a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois.
The accident happened right before 8:00 a.m. at the Harlem station near Circle Ave and I-290 (the Dwight D Eisenhower Expressway). The mystery train somehow traveled a half mile unattended and bypassed two track switches and other safeguards before smashing head-on into another commuter train full of passengers on the Blue Line.
Authorities are sorting through the incident trying to figure out how the incident could have possibly happened. Suspicious activity was suspected at first, but then the focus of the investigation has shifted into the direction of there being some kind of defective equipment or system.
There were about 40 passengers aboard the train that was hit. Early reports indicate at least 30 injuries. There were no reports of any injuries to any railroad workers.
The incident is currently under investigation.
Blog post by Gordon & Elias, a FELA lawyer and Illinois railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.