A collision on the tracks of Chicago’s CTA metro line Monday morning sent over 30 people to the hospital. Police are now investigating the incident as the result of a possible hijacking.
As of 10am local time, 33 people were brought to nine area
hospitals following a collision hours earlier that occurred when
an outbound train stopped at the Forest Park station
was struck by an out-of-service train heading in the opposite
direction, Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Lambrini
Ludkidis told the Tribune.
CTA trains crash: Chicago Tribune photo by Chuck Berman. pic.twitter.com/jngus1Iua4
— Scott Kleinberg (@scottkleinberg) September 30, 2013
CBS News is reporting that police were investigating the possibility that the collision resulted because someone hijacked the out-of-service train, though indications largely pointed to a mechanical failure, albeit an unusual one. The network also puts the number of those injured at 48.
"I was waiting for my train. Time to go to school. I heard
screaming, 'Stop the train, stop the train, slow down.' It seemed
like the train going toward Forest Park bumped back a little
bit," witness Taylor Pettigrew told local station WTVD-TV.
The CTA told CBS that the train was on the wrong tracks when it rammed the on-duty car. Anthony Calderone, the mayor of Chicago suburb Forest Park , says that nobody was at the controls when the train crashed.
"To the best of our knowledge, from what we know right now,
there was no driver, there was no human being on that eastbound
train," Calderone said as quoted by the WLS radio website.
"Forest Park police are treating this as a crime scene."
Police sources told the ABC the train was possibly "deliberately set in motion."
Blue Line trains not stopping at Harlem (Forest Park br.) due to an incident involving a train. Again, service has resumed to Forest Park.
— cta (@cta) September 30, 2013
Official say there are no serious injuries being reported as of
yet. One of those requesting medical attention was a train
operator.
Service on the line was shut down for a couple of hours and the
station where the collision occurred remained closed after
service was restored, the CTA said.
33 hurt in Chicago train collision. via @chicagotribunehttp://t.co/MVODvsBM15pic.twitter.com/3srAzUVt4n
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) September 30, 2013
@sondrasolarte@FoxNews@fox32news Blue Line trains collide. pic.twitter.com/aAqgM7kQD2
— stvcksondeck$$gvng (@pulchritudino_) September 30, 2013