Union Pacific Worker: Something Was Wrong With Track In Fatal Crash

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 17, 2012 1:45PM

A UPRR crew using a rail crane to lift and remove a portion of a signal tower that was demolished by a train derailment that collapsed the UPRR bridge over Shermer Road and killed two individuals July 4. (Photo Credit: Duane Rapp)

A Union Pacific railroad worker reported he saw something that "didn't look exactly right" the day of a July 4 crash and bridge collapse that killed a Glenview couple . This detail came out as Union Pacific officials were set to meet with Glenview residents in a public meeting to discuss the crash.

Union Pacific addressed its preliminary findings at the meeting and maintained that there was nothing structurally wrong with the Bridge on Shermer Road the day of the crash. Union Pacific spokesman Joseph Bateman said an employee charged with maintaining the signal system along that stretch of rail noticed an issue with a section of track and called for an inspector to come out.

“He called the expert in to have a second look to see if it was safe to operate…by the time the expert came to take a look, the accident had occurred.”

Union Pacific officials are blaming a "heat-related anomaly" as the reason for the crash that killed Burton and Zorine Lindner, ages 69 and 70, who lived just a block away from the collapsed bridge and were in their car at the time of the tragedy. Union Pacific vice president of engineering David Connell said the heat swelled the tracks and caused a jackknife that folded the train and caused the bridge to collapse.

Glenview and Northbrook residents question Union Pacific's preliminary findings. The bridge was also the site of a 2009 crash and another crash in the 1970s; there have been concerns about the railroads speed limits during periods of extreme heat like the 103-degree weather the day of the crash; and doubt reports from the railroad and an independent inspector the bridge was structurally sound.

The family for the Lindners have retained the services of Clifford Law Offices in a wrongful death lawsuit against Union Pacific.