At least one person was killed after being struck by a Metra Rock Island District train in suburban Joliet Wednesday, and the search is continuing for another person that authorities believe was also struck by the locomotive.
According to authorities, a group of three male teens were walking on a bridge over Hickory Creek near Joliet’s Pilcher Park after 7 p.m. Wednesday night when Metra train number 419 struck at least two of them.
One of the teens struck by the train has been pronounced dead, and the second has not yet been located, but a search is continuing to try to find him.
The third teen was able to avoid being struck by the train, and a fourth teen, who was walking up to the bridge to meet the other three, was also unharmed, police said.
"Don't go on the tracks, don't play on the tracks," a Metra official said Thursday. "Trains are faster than you think. They're quieter than you think, and it's just dangerous."
The search resumed after it was called off due to weather on Wednesday evening.
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Authorities are focusing on the area around Hickory Creek, saying there is a chance the teen was knocked into the water after being struck by the train. High waters in the creek, caused by recent rains, are hampering the search, which is being conducted with boats and drones, according to officials.
Metra spokesman Tom Miller told the Chicago Tribune the group was trespassing on the train tracks on the bridge, and were seen running from the train as it approached.
The agency is urging residents to stay off train tracks, warning that it is against the law to walk along or cross tracks outside of designated areas.
