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.
Maria Hinojosa, of the 3000 block of South Keeler Avenue, was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:30 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
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 max posted speed, according to Reile, who didn’t know the posted speed in the area but 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, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Woman Killed when Metra Strikes Car
Police are invesitigating why the vehicle was on the train track at gate crossing
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