In Chicago, a serious incident occurred on a Thursday morning when a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) commuter train collided with snow-removal equipment.
This accident, which took place just before 10:35 a.m. near the Howard CTA station on the city’s North Side, resulted in the injury of nearly 40 people, including four children.
Among those injured, 23 individuals were taken to local hospitals, with three sustaining critical injuries. Thankfully, there were no life-threatening injuries reported.
The train, operating on the Yellow Line and traveling south from Skokie, carried 31 commuters and seven CTA workers when it struck the slower-moving rail equipment.
Keith Gray, the assistant deputy chief paramedic, indicated that the most severely injured included the train’s operator.
The children on board mainly suffered bumps and bruises. In a harrowing account, a passenger, Humdia Ahmad, described being flung forward by the impact while traveling to DePaul University.
After the collision, she witnessed the train operator in severe pain and noted significant damage to the front of the train, including shattered glass.
Another passenger, Shayla Smith, who was boarding a Purple Line train at Howard station, recalled hearing a loud boom and the ensuing panic and confusion among the passengers.
Television footage later showed one end of the train significantly crushed and pushed in. In response to the incident, at least 15 ambulances were dispatched, and a triage center was set up to assess the injured, some of whom were seen with severe head injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it would send a team to investigate the crash.
Meanwhile, the CTA has stated that the cause of the crash is still under investigation and that train service on the Red, Purple, and Yellow lines was temporarily suspended due to the incident.
