Metra Fatalities Still an Issue

By Margaret Lyons in News on Oct 9, 2007 10:05PM

So far this year, 64 pedestrians have been killed in Illinois in collisions with trains, 11 involving Metra trains, and of those 9 were in the last four months. It sounds like a lot, but it actually puts 2007 on the lower end of the deathscale. According to Metra's media department, fatalities (including pedestrian vs. train and vehicle vs. train) over the last five years are as follows: There were 23 deaths in 2003, 34 in 2004, 25 in 2005, 18 in 2006, and so far (through 9/24) 14 in 2007.

Either way, the Sun Times is calling it a "persistent problem." Authorities say they don't know how many of these deaths are suicides and how many are accidental. Of the 64 statewide deaths, 13 were ruled suicides, but "railroads don't always report suicides and coroners may rule a death accidental to ease the strain on grieving families," so there's no accurate count.

Some people who get hit by trains survive, though, like that sailor who said he got jumped and pushed onto the tracks. Turns out he just walked too close to the train. D'oh.

"Stop!" by P2wy.