Lawsuit Filed In Fatal Train Derailment And Bridge Collapse

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jul 6, 2012 10:00PM

A judge has ordered a halt to the cleanup of the train derailment and bridge collapse in the suburbs after the family of the couple killed filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad. The incident happened on July 4, and authorities but it wasn't until the 17th hour of cleanup that a vehicle was found in the rubble.

The Glenview couple found in the wreckage has been identified as Burton and Zorine Lindner, ages 69 and 70, who lived just a block away from the collapsed bridge. “We want to prevent Union Pacific from manipulating more evidence here at the scene,” said Michael LaMonica, attorney for the family.

Union Pacific has already built temporary tracks to keep trains moving, which LaMonica says "shows you they’re more interested in having their business carry on the day after this tragedy than they are allowing a real, thorough investigation to determine why these two amazing lives were taken.”

Union Pacific says the train derailed before the bridge collapsed and that "the massive weight of the cars cascading onto the pileup was more than the bridge was designed to handle." UP officials say the heat could have made the rails expand, causing the derailment.

On Friday, LaMonica said, “We’re here to get some answers as to why something this tragic happened, and we refuse to accept the fact that it was hot outside so a train went flying off the track, because that’s unacceptable.”

Footage from the wreck can be seen in the WGN video below. The reporter says no one was injured because the Lindners' car hadn't been found.