Man fatally struck by freight train in La Grange
Pioneer Press April 12, 2013 2:28AM
Maps
Metra service was halted Thursday after a pedestrian was fatally struck by a train at the Stone Avenue station in La Grange.
The unidentified man was struck and killed by a freight train about 1 p.m. Thursday.
Witnesses told police the man left the station platform directly onto the tracks, La Grange Police Chief Michael Holub said.
“He made a concerted effort. This was not an accident,” Holub said at the scene. “It’s definitely a fatality with quite a bit of carnage.”
Holub said it appeared the man’s body was dragged for more than a block.
Train traffic was halted until shortly before 2:30 p.m., when westbound trains resumed slowly through the area, sounding a warning horn.
The long freight train stretched from west of Gilbert Avenue almost to the La Grange Road station, and yellow crime scene tape was plastered across each intersection.
This was the fourth fatality in recent weeks along the BNSF line, following deaths in Westmont on March 7; Hinsdale on March 18, and Downers Grove on March 19.
