(The following article by Virginia Groark was posted on the Chicago Tribune website on December 21. F.W. Lumpkins is a member of BLET Division 294 in Benseville, Ill.)
CHICAGO — The engineer of a Metra train that struck a pickup truck in Elgin on Monday, killing its 74-year-old driver, also operated the train that plowed into vehicles that were backed up on the tracks in Elmwood Park last month, Metra officials said Tuesday.
A day after the Elgin accident that killed Yorkville resident Vernon Smith and less than a month after the Elmwood Park crash, the 56-year-old engineer called on motorists to pay more attention to their surroundings and obey traffic signals and rules.
“There’s no reason for this. There’s no reason at all,” said Schaumburg resident Wayne Lumpkins, who has been an engineer for 30 years, including nearly nine years at Metra.
“They need to obey the rules and slow down,” he added. “It’s simple. Stop, look and listen.”
About four years ago, a train he was operating struck a car that drove around lowered gates in Bensenville, Lumpkins said, but the driver was not killed. A decade ago, a woman committed suicide by jumping in front of a freight train he was operating.
Sitting in an office at Metra headquarters in Chicago, Lumpkins spoke publicly for the first time since the Nov. 23 Elmwood Park accident. That afternoon, his train struck five cars on the tracks and they rammed into 11 other vehicles, injuring at least 13 people. Federal investigators have said the accident likely was caused by motorists who ignored warning signs and stopped on the tracks.
“Everyone who was involved in that, they should get down on their knees and thank God because that could have been worse,” said Lumpkins, who received counseling and returned to work a week later. “I know I did.”
Lumpkins has not been accused of wrongdoing in either incident and has a clean record at Metra, agency spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said.
Lumpkins, who is seeking counseling after Monday night’s incident, said he wanted to speak publicly to raise awareness about the need to take precautions around trains and at rail crossings.
Because Metra faces lawsuits from the Elmwood Park crash, Lumpkins could not say what he thinks should be done at that crossing, where the train speed limit has been reduced to 30 m.p.h. from 70 m.p.h. at the Illinois Commerce Commission’s recommendation.
Metra has been meeting with state and federal officials to discuss if additional safety measures should be taken at the crossing.
In general, Lumpkins said he believes motorists who violate traffic rules should be ticketed, and the legal system should ensure violators pay hefty fines.
He also said it wasn’t the first time he has seen cars try to beat the train at that Elmwood Park crossing.
“This happens all the time,” he said.
But he had never seen as many vehicles backed up on the tracks as he did on Nov. 23, a phenomenon he attributed to people trying to rush home for the holiday.
He said he spotted the cars when he was about 200 feet from the crossing and immediately pulled the emergency brake to slow the train, which was traveling at 70 m.p.h. with its horn blaring.
“As soon as I saw it, I thought, `Oh my God. This is going to be bad.'”
“You can’t imagine what you feel like when you see cars start flying in front of you,” Lumpkins said. “… You start thinking real quick, `I hope nobody dies.'”
Such accidents take a toll on engineers, their families, Metra staff and rescue crews–something he doesn’t think motorists consider when they try to beat a train, he said.
Lumpkins, a father of three and grandfather of two, said after the accidents that he coped by spending time alone or with his grandchildren. But he forced himself to put the incidents out of his mind so he could return to work.
While there are more gates at crossings than there were when he first became an engineer, Lumpkins said there seem to be more people today trying to cross in front of trains, whether they’re motorists, children on bicycles or pedestrians.
Lumpkins said there’s not much an engineer can do to stop a train when a car darts in front of it. The weight of trains makes it impossible for them to stop quickly, he said.
That was the problem Monday night when Lumpkins spotted Smith’s Chevrolet pickup just a few yards ahead of him on the tracks.
He said he applied the emergency brake but knew it was too late.
Elgin police continue to investigate the crash. The Elgin Avenue crossing had a stop sign and railroad crossing signs but no warning lights or gates, police said.
“It’s a tragedy, and we may never know what was on [Smith’s] mind,” Elgin Police Sgt. Tom Olson said.