Metra Train Strikes Truck on Chicago's NW Side

No injuries were reported, police said

A Metra train struck a truck Friday morning in the Northwest Side Norwood Park neighborhood.

Inbound Union Pacific/Northwest Line No. 630 struck a truck that was backing into a lumber yard in the 6900 block of North Northwest Highway about 8:20 a.m., authorities said.

No injuries were reported, police said.

The train involved in the crash was still stopped as of 9:10 a.m., according to Metra. Inbound trains no. 634, no. 632, and no. 636 are also stopped as a result of the crash.

John Blais, who works for the Chicago Sun-Times, was sitting in the upper deck of the second car of the train when the crash happened.

“The horn went on, then the brakes went on. There was a message over the intercom, and the conductor told us to brace,” Blais said.

Blais said the truck was a white semi with a flat bed. The conductor told passengers the driver jumped out of the truck before the crash. No one on the train was injured, Blais said.

“There was a pretty big pop,” Blais said.

Chicago Police are investigating.

Earlier this week, another Union Pacific / Northwest Line Metra train struck a vehicle in northwest suburban Des Plaines.

The crash happened Tuesday evening when a woman driving a Honda Civic stopped past the train gate on the tracks, according to Des Plaines police. The 75-year-old woman was treated for minor injuries after the crash at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

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