Personal Injury Law

Rail Crossing Malfunction Caused Will County Train Crash that Claimed the Life of Lincoln Park Woman

Federal investigators are continuing to look into the deadly Will County train accident that killed Katie Lunn. 26-year-old Lincoln Park dance teacher's SUV was hit by an Amtrak train going at 78 mph at the University Park crossing. According to the Chicago Tribune, the grade-crossing protection system had been turned off because of repairs that were made to fix a problem with the warning system, and Canadian National Railway workers were unaware that the gates and lights were not working when they let the Amtrak train, which was headed for Chicago, through.

No safety backstops had been put in place, which left Lunn unaware that a train was approaching as she attempted to drive cross the railroad tracks. Investigators say that even a driver that was looking out for a train?even though the bells, lights, or gates hadn?t been activated?wouldn?t have been able to escape.

Railroad Crossing Accidents
Illinois railroad crossing accidents can cause serious injuries to pedestrians and motor vehicle occupants. Some crossings are poorly designed and may lack the warning devices needed to let motorists and pedestrians know that a train is approaching.

Other common causes of railroad crossing accidents:
? Malfunctioning crossing gates or lights
? Failure by train operator to sound the horn
? Failure by train operator to activate train lights
? Poor crossing maintenance
? Train defects
? Train operator fatigue
? Poor visibility
? Trains going at a fast speed
? Train malfunction

There may be more than one party that should be held liable for causing a catastrophic Illinois train crash.

Officials: Signals out in fatal Ill. train crash, AP, April 20, 2010

Rail worker scrambled to save woman?s life, Chicago Tribune, April 20, 2010

Related Web Resources:

Federal Railroad Administration

Canadian National Railway

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on April 21, 2010 (boomark / email).