(The Associated Press circulated the following on December 3.)
CHICAGO — A Michigan family sued Amtrak and Norfolk Southern on Monday, three days after being injured when a passenger train rammed a freight train sitting on the same track on Chicago’s South Side.
John and Marcia Hamstra of Grandville, Mich., along with their daughter-in-law and grandchildren, are seeking damages from the railroads in a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
The Hamstras contend the railroads were negligent during Friday’s accident, which injured dozens aboard the train traveling to Chicago from Grand Rapids, Mich.
John Hamstra, 63, fractured his shoulder and suffered a concussion in the crash. The rest of the family was treated and released for various minor injuries.
Spokesmen for Amtrak and Norfolk Southern Corporation declined to comment Monday.
Federal investigators say the train was speeding moments before it hit the stationary freight train.