Third Woman Files Suit, Describes CTA Crash

A TSA employee is the latest person to file a lawsuit against the CTA following Monday's crash at O'Hare International Airport.

Malika Overton says she was on her way to work at the airport when the Blue Line train jumped the tracks and crashed into an escalator.

"We were waiting at the door, waiting at the door to open, and realized the door wasn't opening and the train wasn't stopping," Overton said. "We were going full speed, so all I could do was just hold on and try to brace myself."

Overton's arm is in a sling. She says she didn't suffer any broken bones, but doctors told her she likely has torn ligaments.

Her attorney, Bridget Duignan, also represents another of the passengers filing suit. She says they're looking beyond just driver error.

"To think that the emergency brakes were engaged, and this particular train still jumped the platform up the escalator is a scary thought, and it really questions the structure itself," Duignan said.

Matt Jenkins, an attorney for another passenger filed an emergency order Wednesday to preserve evidence from the scene. The judge allowed lawyers access to video from the train and the station, along with the records from the investigation.

"Not just records of what happened on Monday, but maintenance records of the train in the past and employment records of the operator," Jenkins said. "This incident needs to serve as the poster child for cultural change within the CTA so that they know when they have operators that are negligent, they're not putting them back out on the job."

Overton says it's not the first time she's been involved in an emergency involving a CTA train . She was one of the passengers forced to evacuate a train in Rosemont in January when another train caught fire.

"I'm petrified because this is the second derailment that I've been on the Blue Line," Overton said.

Overton will be away from work for at least two weeks, but she says when she does return, it'll be a mental challenge to get back on the train.

At least two other negligence lawsuits have been filed in the wake of the accident.

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