(The following story by Dan P. Blake appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on February 15.)
CHICAGO — A motorist was killed Thursday night when he drove his vehicle around downed crossing gates in Des Plaines and was struck by a Metra train, police said.
A pedestrian standing by the tracks also was injured when the victim’s vehicle struck him after it collided with the train.
The accident happened around 6 p.m. when Robert Wells III, 42, drove onto the tracks at Pearson and Miner Streets in the northwest suburb.
Outbound Union Pacific Northwest Train No. 645 collided with Wells’ vehicle, causing it to spin away from the tracks and end up on the sidewalk, Des Plaines police said in a news release.
Ricky Collins, of Chicago, who was standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross the tracks, was hit by the crushed vehicle, according to police. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General in Park Ridge and where he was treated for minor injuries.
Wells, who lived in the 1000 block of South River Road in Des Plaines, was pronounced dead at Lutheran General about an hour after the crash.