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 The Chicago Transit Authority train, a mass transit train that ran
on electricity, is expected to remain in place for at least a day
while investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board
try to determine how it jumped a bumper at the end of the line.
"The train is not going to go anywhere for the foreseeable future — it's not going anywhere today," NTSB investigator Tim DePaepe told a
news conference.
Investigators will review station video of the train arriving and an
outward-facing video recorder at the front of the electrified "L"
train, along with signals and the train's condition, he said.
It was not immediately clear how fast the train was moving, but
authorities were looking at speed as a possible factor, said transit
authority spokesman Brian Steele.
"It's evident the train was going faster than it should," he said at
the scene.
Neither the female train operator nor any of the passengers faced
life-threatening injuries, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman
Larry Langford.
DePaepe said the operator had been on duty for about six hours at
the time of the crash. She was still being examined at a local
hospital and had not yet been interviewed by investigators, DePaepe
said.
Robert Kelly, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 that
represents the operators, said the woman had worked more than 60
hours during the last seven days.
"The operator might have dozed off. She did indicate to me that she
was extremely tired," said Kelly, who spoke to the operator after
the crash.
"She doesn't have an explanation of how this happened."
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Langford said the eight-car train jumped a bumper at the end of the
line just before 3:00 a.m. Chicago time (0800 GMT).
It was not immediately clear how long train service on that part of
the line will be suspended. Buses were shuttling passengers from
O'Hare to the next train station, according to CTA officials.
Passers-by gawked at the crash scene, with some people saying the
incident made them a little more nervous about traveling by train.
"I feel like there's accidents all the time with the trains, but not
this bad," said Meghan Cassin, 25, a Chicago resident who was
heading to work after a trip to Florida. "They take corners really
fast."
In September, an unmanned Chicago Transit Authority train collided
with a standing train at a station in a western suburb of Chicago
during the morning rush hour, injuring at least 33 people.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee;
editing by
Ken Wills)
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