A Chicago-bound Metra express train struck a Chevy Blazer at a South Side crossing Thursday morning, moments after the driver fled from the vehicle when it became blocked in on the tracks.
Police said Eileen Morrison, 47, was driving over the crossing at 103rd Street near Vincennes Avenue when the car in front of her stalled.
Seconds later, the crossing gates came down and Morrison saw the train rapidly approaching. At that point, according to Metra spokesman Tom Miller, she “did the smartest thing she could at the time and left the van.”
The engineer hit his emergency brake when he saw the vehicle on the tracks and had slowed the train to about 15 miles an hour when it hit the vehicle, Miller said. The train pushed the Blazer to the side, damaging its front end and passenger side. None of the train’s passengers was injured.
The train was Rock Island No. 412, which began its route in Joliet at 7:04 a.m. and was scheduled to run express to the LaSalle Street Station. The accident occurred at 8 a.m.
