One killed when Metra train strikes vehicle in LaGrange

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Updated: February 10, 2012 10:33PM

A Metra train struck a vehicle Friday night in west suburban LaGrange, killing one person inside.

BNSF Railway equipment train No. 1282 struck a vehicle near the LaGrange Stone Avenue station about 5:45 p.m., Metra officials said.

Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said one person inside the vehicle was killed. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the fatality, but was not releasing any information about the victim because family had not yet been notified.

The crash apparently happened at a gate crossing, but the reason the vehicle was on the track remained under investigation Friday night, Metra officials said.

The train was not carrying any passengers and was headed to Chicago, where it would turn around for a scheduled outbound run, Metra spokesman Tom Miller. Because the train was not making stops it would have been traveling at the maximum posted speed, Reile said. The highest speed limit on the line is 79 miles per hour.

The crash prompted numerous cancellations and delays, Metra said.

No Metra personnel on the train were injured, Miller said.

An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday.