(The following story by Amy Deis and Jennifer Zimmerman appeared at PioneerLocal.com on January 28.)
CHICAGO — Two Metra trains collided with a van in Hinsdale after the driver left his vehicle.
Witnesses attempted to move the van from the tracks before an eastbound train hit it. The 1996 Plymouth minivan also was hit by a second Metra train traveling west.
About 5:42 p.m. Monday, Franciszek Chudzik, 72, of 735 S. Summer Ave., Aurora, drove over a crossing in downtown Hinsdale and attempted to make a left turn onto the third set of tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line, according to witnesses.
Chudzik was arrested at the scene and has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, having a blood-alcohol content of more than .08 and trespassing on railroad property. He will be released on bond and has a court date at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28.
One man who witnessed the incident said he saw the driver make a left turn onto the tracks and get stuck. Unable to move his van off the tracks, the driver then got out of it, put the keys in his pocket and walked off, the witness said.
Carol Nusko of Chicago said several people yelled for the man to get out of his vehicle after he stopped it on the tracks. Debris from the crash broke two windows at the Hinsdale Metra Station, including one at the Cosí restaurant where two Doings reporters were having dinner.
Reporters approached emergency personnel, asking about the condition of the driver.
“I am the driver of the car,” Chudzik told one reporter while chuckling. The reporters noted that the man who identified himself as the driver smelled of alcohol and wobbled when he walked. He was arrested and placed in a police car after officers conducted two sobriety tests.
A Hinsdale firefighter said he and firefighters were initially looking for body parts, pieces of the vehicle and other debris under the train stalled at the Washington Street crossing. Police confirmed no one was injured in the accident.
Emergency personnel also were checking underneath one of the trains that hit the van and caused part of it to explode, another witness said.
Witnesses on the scene told Doings reporters that the van had been southbound on Washington Street before the driver turned onto the tracks.
Police subsequently interviewed witnesses who provided conflicting accounts that the driver may have crossed northbound at Lincoln Street.
A woven blanket, a can of air freshener and headrests from the vehicle were strewn across the tracks down to the Garfield Avenue crossing.
Jeanne Walsh of Willow Springs, who works at the French Seam in Hinsdale, said the interior of the van hit the side of her parked Lexus.
“I just started to run,” said Walsh, who clearly was shaken up by the crash.
“Thank God I did. I got hit by some debris and looked back ‹ it was just a fireball.”
Metra BNSF Train No. 1267, scheduled to arrive at the Route 59 station at 6:03 p.m., was involved the accident at about 5:40 p.m., according to Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet.
Passengers were being dropped off at the Western Springs Metra station.