Community Corner
Metra Train Hits Car Monday in Arlington Heights
The car's front bumper was too close to the track when the train hit the vehicle. The driver walked away with no injuries.
A driver is lucky to be alive after his car was hit by a Metra train late Monday afternoon at the Northwest Highway railroad crossing near Arthur/Davis in Arlington Heights.
According to Arlington Heights Police Sargeant Jerry Lehnert, at around 3:15 p.m., the train was heading westbound toward Palatine when it stuck the front bumper of the car.
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Train 621 was due in Crystal Lake at 3:55 p.m., according to the Daily Herald.
The driver, not been identified by police, was parked so close to the tracks crossing that the gates lowered onto the roof of his vehicle. The train was traveling westbound on the southernmost set of tracks at roughly 55 mph, and struck the vehicle on the south side of the crossing, according to Lehnert.
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Traffic in the area was backed up and rerouted for close to an hour as the train came to a halt and the accident scene was cleared by police and firefighters, Lehnert said.
No tickets have yet been issued, and the driver walked away uninjured.
According to the Arlington Cardinal, Metra trains were running 40-50 minutes behind immediately after the incident.
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