CHICAGO — More than 30 people were injured, and more than 20 were hospitalized, following a crash involving a Chicago Transit Authority train today (Thurday, Nov. 16), according to updated information from the Chicago Fire Department.
The latest information, as reported by WMAQ-TV, is that at least 38 people were injured, with 23 transported to hospitals. Of those, at least two were critically injured; none of the injuries were reported to be life-threatening. Four of the injured were reported to be children. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the operator of the CTA train was among the most critically injured.
WLS-TV reports that the collision occurred at 10:39 a.m. in the city’s Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Side, near the Howard Street station on the Red and Yellow lines. A Yellow Line train reportedly hit maintenance equipment — described as a snowplow — in the Howard railyard; images show the front of a railcar significantly caved in from the impact. A Chicago Fire Department spokesman said the train and plow were moving in the same direction, but the train, moving about 30 mph, rear-ended the plow, going about 10 mph, according to the Sun-Times.
Yellow and Purple line CTA service has been suspended.
In an earlier report, WMAQ-TV indicated that 15 people assessed for injuries had refused transport to hospitals.
WMAQ also reports that Evanston firefighters had to rescue passengers from a Purple Line train stranded between stations when power was cut as a result of the accident involving the Yellow Line train.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it was sending personnel to investigate the incident.
— Updated at 1:35 p.m. CST with new injury figures; updated at 6 p.m. with additional information.
