Amtrak train hits, kills 2 near Stickney

Two apparently homeless men were killed by an Amtrak train in unincorporated Cook County near west suburban Stickney Tuesday night.

About 8:30 p.m. Amtrak train No. 304 train from St. Louis bound for Union Station was approximately 9 miles from the station in an unincorporated area near Stickney when it struck two trespassers, according to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, who said the two people were killed.

“Two trespassers were in the path of the train,’’ he said.

The two victims were described as one black man and one white man, both in their 50s and thought to be homeless, according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, who said they were dead at the scene at the 4700 block of South Luna Avenue.

The train was delayed for three hours and arrived at Union Station at 11:30 p.m., Magliari said. Train No. 304 was scheduled to arrive at the station about 8:30 p.m.

About 70 passengers and crew were aboard the train and no one on the train was injured, he said. Magliari was not sure how fast the train was going at the time of the incident but said it did not occur near a scheduled stop.

Service on Train 306, also bound for Union Station from St. Louis, was affected as well, Magliari said.

When asked if the engineer would be undergoing tests for drugs or alcohol, Magliari said there has been no "request or need" for such examinations.

A spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s office was not immediately available.