(Caution: The only reason I'd make fun of a crash is because no one got hurt. Thank you.)
Now TODAY, we had a spectacular accident on the Eisenhower. At 4:05 AM, two cars reportedly tangled up, and one car shot across the inbound lanes at Central Ave and flew over the wall onto the CTA Blue Line tracks. Miraculous the driver managed to escape the vehicle before it was stiffed by a moving westbound train. The train derailed a bit, the car was totalled. If you weren't sure if it was was, all you had to was wait until the heavy wreckers tore it apart when they peeled it from the El train. Traffic finally got back to normal around 7:15 AM.
How in the world do you fly over the wall and land upright on the CTA tracks? How do you have enough time to get out of the car? How does nobody get hurt? No one!! 31 passengers on the train and NBC 5 Reporter and heartthrob Anthony Ponce said that just seven were taken to local hospitals. Nothing life threatening, nothing serious.
Although the crash was dramatic, it wasn't as cool as this one. (TBS Very Funny)
**So with that mess going on today, here's what else we were dealing with in the Traffic Lounge today:
-Our traffic sensors went down, so did the back up sensors
-SKY 5 turned into SKY 1, as in one report all day
-more crashes, fires, derailments, and flooding
Basically, I thought the apocalypse was coming. Our sensors measure the average speed on the road. No sensors, no idea on delays. My reports were about 15 % information, 85 % guess work today. Seriously, that happens more than I let on. Righthand Man Jim and I actually had this conversation...
Matt: "What do you think of the Edens?"
Jim: "I'd say, oh, maybe 25 minutes in?"
Matt: "Yeah, that sounds right. What about out?"
Jim: "Hmmm."
Matt: "23 out?"
Jim: "Sure, why not."
It's like throwing darts!
Mike Lorber had an unbelievably frustrating day. When you can't transmit a signal to the station, you can' t go on the air. He finally got it working at 6:35, just in time to go back home and land. I felt awful for him today.
Flooding in Northwest Indiana and on the Bishop Ford. A train derailed last night, ripping up Austin Avenue near 59th. That won't go away for a while. Another big crash on the Ike near I-355.
Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!!
