Chicago Subway Train Wreck … Rush Hour Could Be Hell
CTA Green Line Train Derails; 24 Hurt
Huberman Unsure If Service Will Be Restored By Rush Hour
(WMAQ-TV)
CHICAGO — A four-car Chicago Transit Authority train derailed on a South Side track Wednesday, forcing emergency responders to retrieve dazed passengers from the elevated structure, but there were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
The crash happened at 319 E. Garfield Ave., in the South Side Washington Park neighborhood. NBC5’s Rob Stafford is reporting on the ground.
The southbound train’s first two cars sat askew at a junction between two lines but remained upright after the derailment. Stafford said the situation appeared to be “absolutely under control,” with no sense of panic felt at the scene.
A total of 24 people were reported to be injured, Fire Media Affairs Asst. Director Eve Rodriguez said. Four were reported in fair to serious condition and 20 people were reported in good to fair condition, Rodriguez said. She did not know the nature of the injuries.
CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said the Green Line train derailed about 10:10 a.m. at the 59th Street junction near Garfield, and all trains were being stopped between 63rd and 35th.
Power has been shut off on the line from 35th to 63rd, and trains are being turned from south to north at 35th.
An EMS Plan I and still and box alarm were called at 10:10 a.m. for the derailment, according to Rodriguez. At about 10:35 a.m. the response was raised to an EMS Plan II, which sends a total of 10 ambulances to the scene.
All passengers had been removed from the train cars as of 11:08 a.m. The EMS plan and still and box alarm were secured at the same time.
A staging area was set up in a vacant lot adjacent to the elevated tracks. Emergency workers laid out tarps on the ground, Stafford said, one green, one yellow and one red, indicating the seriousness of the injuries suffered.
At 10:50 a.m., there were several people on the green tarp, one on the yellow tarp and no one on the red tarp. At least 10 people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries while others refused treatment for minor injuries, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Renee Davis said her sister, Mary Ann Baker, was on the train and called from her cell phone shortly after the derailment. Davis said she could hear other passengers “hollering, screaming, praying.”
“She said it just spin around, it just tipped,” Davis said of her sister. “She hit her head, her whole body.”
CTA President Ron Huberman said he was unsure whether Green Line service would be restored by the evening rush.
According to the CTA Web site, a bus shuttle is in place in both directions from 63rd to 35th on Ashland and Cottage Grove.
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“…derailed on a South Side track…”
Could we have a good South Side “Community Organizer(tm)” here please???
May 28th, 2008 at 10:55 amPlease?!?!?!
Sully, he is too damned busy campaigning in 57 states. You are so ungrateful…
May 28th, 2008 at 11:48 amOh my…. I’ve been called alot of things but never “ungrateful”.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pmSuppose that’s an Irish trait?
could be
as well…
May 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pmCould be…
May 28th, 2008 at 1:18 pm