Caught On Camera: Metra Train Slams Into Car

A woman walked away from a violent collision with a Metra train in northwest suburban Des Plaines Monday without any injuries.

Train no. 623 on the Union Pacific / Northwest line struck the 2005 Ford Taurus shortly after 4 p.m. at the River Road intersection in Des Plaines.

Police say the driver was attempting to turn south onto River Road from Miner Street when she lost traction on the snow-covered road.

The driver tried to back up from the railroad tracks when the gates and signals activated.

The westbound train struck the front driver side of the vehicle. br />
"They were turning, but then they started to slide on the train tracks," said Mark Macalaguin, who took video of crash from his phone as he waited at a nearby red light. "My heart was pounding after I saw that." br />
Macalaguin's video captured the car spinning around upon impact and slamming into a railroad crossing pole, but police say the driver walked away unharmed.

The accident temporarily halted some inbound and outbound Metra trains and led to the cancellation of several others along the Union Pacific Northwest line.

Trains traveling to Chicago’s Ogilvie Transportation Center, Crystal Lake and Harvard resumed service about 5:40 p.m., with delays between 15 and 65 minutes, according to Metra.

Train no. 651, scheduled to depart Ogilvie at 6:01 p.m. for Crystal Lake was canceled, along with inbound trains nos. 650 and 623, both bound for Ogilvie from Des Plaines, according to Metra’ website.