(The following story by Shruti Daté Singh was published in the January 16 issue of the Chicago Daily Herald.)
CHICAGO — A collision between a Metra train, headed from Chicago to Crystal Lake, and a car at a railroad crossing in Rolling Meadows Wednesday morning left a 79-year-old Palatine man dead.
Union Pacific/Northwest Line Metra train 611, which left Chicago at 9 a.m., crashed into a silver-colored 1992 Lexus LS 400 at 9:53 a.m. after the driver turned onto southbound Rohlwing Road from Northwest Highway, Rolling Meadows police said.
The driver, Palatine resident Dick One, was the only person in the car. There were no other fatalities or injuries.
Rolling Meadows police officials said One was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by paramedics, who arrived at the railroad crossing within minutes of the incident. The Cook County medical examiner’s office is expected to have an official cause of death today.
Rolling Meadows police officials said One was on his way to work at D.O. Tool Manufacturing Inc. in Rolling Meadows, a business that he owned. The car also was owned by the business.
Rolling Meadows Deputy Chief Dave Scanlan said the gates were down when One apparently tried to maneuver around them and cross the tracks. He said the intent of the driver, however, is still unclear at this point. Rolling Meadows police and Union Pacific officials will continue to investigate the accident.
Chip Pew, railroad safety specialist for the Illinois Commerce Commission, said from his understanding, the car went “around the active and functioning gates.”
“Trains are on a fixed track. They don’t jump off,” said Pew, who was at the scene. He said the incident highlights the need for railroad safety awareness.
The Metra train was halted near the railroad crossing in Rolling Meadows for more than an hour after the accident. Several dozen Metra passengers waited inside the train until buses arrived to take them to their regularly scheduled stops.
Passengers said they did not feel the impact of the crash but quickly saw the damaged car on the tracks.
“It took a second to register,” said passenger Paul Dimmick, who was headed to the Fox River Grove stop.
Employees of a Subway sandwich shop next to the tracks said the loud thud from the crash jolted them in what was up to that point a quiet morning.
“We heard the impact. It was real bad. It was fast,” said Subway employee Christina Salgado.