ELGIN, Ill. — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a fatal collision on Thursday in Elgin involving a Union Pacific locomotive and a landscaping company pickup truck, the agency announced on social media.
One person was killed and two were injured in the collision at the State Street grade crossing in Elgin, the Daily Herald newspaper reports. The person killed was a passenger in the vehicle; the driver and another passenger were transported to a hospital. Landscaping firm Cornerstone Partners confirmed that one of its employees had been killed while two others were receiving medical treatment, with the company saying it was “profoundly saddened and heartbroken by the tragedy” and that its focus was on “supporting the families and employees impacted by providing all necessary resources.”
The collision, which occurred about 6:30 a.m., involved a locomotive running light; UP said crew members were not injured. The NTSB notes the grade crossing is protected by lights and crossing gates; WLS-TV reports investigators are working to determine whether the gates were lowered at the time of the crash.
Elgin is approximately 42 miles from Chicago on UP’s Belvidere Subdivision, its route to Rockford, Ill.
There are so many interesting details not in the report.
Did the engine hit the truck or did the truck drive into the engine? (both happen). Did the collision happen in a zone where trains are NOT allowed to use their horn at a crossing? (that’s common enough). How does a truck NOT SEE A TRAIN, which is likely moving slowly? For that matter, how fast was that light engine move moving? Even a clear description of the accident scene is a basic.
State Street is Route 31 and the accident happened between just South of East Chicago Street and North of National, the road is a pretty good incline there with many trees and bushes on both sides. Having gone through there 40+ years I seen my fair share of drivers ignore the lights and jump on it to get through, some very near misses. You can see on YouTube news footage of the scene and get a pretty good idea of what it looks like. As for speed it all depends, I’ve seen them crawling there and moving pretty brisk too. I worked where the line crosses McLean and they were always going at a pretty good clip there.