Boy, 11, expected to survive after being hit by Metra train
Sun-Times Media March 15, 2013 9:53PM
Updated: March 16, 2013 5:04PM
Officials say the 11-year-old boy stuck by a Metra train in Barrington Friday evening is lucky to be alive.
“Few people survive a train accident. He is extremely fortunate and the family is grateful for the outpouring of support since last night,” said Jeff Arnett, chief communications officer for Barrington 220 School District.
The Barrington boy is out of critical condition “but faces a long recovery,” Arnett said Saturday.
The accident occurred when the Hough Street Elementary School fifth-grader crossed the tracks on Hough Street/Highway 59 just north of Lake Cook Road in downtown Barrington at 6:05 p.m. He was struck by a Union Pacific Northwest train en route to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago, Metra spokesman Tom Miller said.
“He was evidently on his way to or from the Celtic Festival at Cook Street Plaza,” Arnett said. “The police indicate he waited for one train to pass, but his view of another oncoming train from the opposite direction was obscured. He started across the tracks after the first train passed when he was struck by the second train on the opposite track.”
Arnett is unsure if the boy was alone at the time, but several witnesses saw the accident unfold and rushed to his side to provide first aid until paramedics arrived.
Anna Shilov said her husband grabbed towels from Salon Shea — the salon across from Barrington Train Station where he works — and tended to the boy after a passerby ran into the business and sought his help.
Paramedics took the boy to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital where he remains.
Barrington police would not comment on the accident on Saturday.
