The final lawsuit in regards to a Metra train derailment from October 2003 has been settled with a Plainfield family receiving $1.8 million.

The three members of the Kuk family were on the Metra train as it went across the 47^th Street crossover on the southside of Chicago. The train was going 69 mph at a portion of the track that was a 10 mph zone. The resulting derailment caused the five-car train to jump the tracks.

Steven and Kathryn Kuk were traveling with their 22-year-old daughter, Megan. Steven and Megan had minor injuries. But Kathryn was thrown from her seat and back again before flying to the floor of the train car. The derailment injured her back, which required several surgeries since then in order to ease her pain. However, it is difficult for Kathryn to sit for long periods of time. Her husband reports that even going to a movie and sitting for two hours is difficult.

The cause of the crash was determined to be driver distraction. Metra plans to implement a new computer program that will help override the system and prevent trains from disobeying signals that can lead to derailments.

When a derailment occurs, passengers and other bystanders can be seriously  injured. If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured in an accident with a train, call Spiros Law, P.C., at 815-929-9292 for professional legal representation. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A Mokena teen who recently graduated from high school was killed Wednesday night when her car was struck by a Metra train in Tinley Park.

Samira Baker, 19, was parked at the tracks at 191st Street, west of LaGrange Road. Witnesses reported her car was inside the lowered gate with the gate resting on the trunk of Baker’s car but her car was clear of the tracks. As the trained neared the car suddenly rolled forward onto the tracks.

The engineer saw the 1999 Nissan Altima and began to stop the train that was traveling at 70 MPH. The train impacted the car on the driver’s side and dragged it another ¼ – ½ mile down the tracks. Baker was pronounced dead at the scene. It was determined that the warning lights and gate was working properly. Will County Police are reconstructing the accident to determine exactly how the accident happened.

Accidents change the make-up of a family in an instant. If you or a loved one has lost someone in a car accident, call Spiros Law for professional legal representation. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

In the early hours of November 3, 20011, a train derailment lead to a fiery scene after the collision of two trains in the area of unincorporated Cook County between Elgin and Bartlett. The derailment has caused the temporary closure of the Milwaukee West Line.

Around 5:30 a.m., twenty-two cars derailed and three began to burn after the collision occurred between two trains on the Canadian National rail lines that are north-south tracks at the point where they cross with the east-west Milwaukee West commuter rail line. One of the trains was a northbound Canadian National freight train. 

There were no reported injuries and nor were there any evacuations. The cars that were carrying toxic material of acid and sodium hydroxide (lye) were cleared from the derailment area and did not catch afire. However, the storage sheds for the Milwaukee Commuter line were blocked by the derailment which prevented the cars for east and west bound lines from being dispatched. This is expected to last through Friday as crews clean up the accident site.

Train derailments can cause more than delays in commuter rail lines.

If you or a loved one knows someone who has injuries as a result of a train derailment, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

The town of Tiskilwa in north-central Illinois was evacuated on October 7, 2011 when a train with 126 cars derailed. At least six tanker cars were burning.

 According to a story by the Associated Press, witnesses reported hearing several explosions.
 
The derailment took place around 2:00 in the morning about one half mile outside of the town, cause approximately 60 cars carrying ethanol to leave the tracks. Residents reported that it sounded like a jet coming over the town. The glow of the fire could be seen from several miles away.
 
There have been no reports of injuries but Tiskilwa, located 100 miles west of Chicago, was evacuated its 800 residents, many to Princeton High School. Emergency crews from Utica, Oglesby, Peru and LaSalle County were on site to put out the fire. A foam product used for putting out fires was being used as water would be ineffective on this type of fire. 
 
If you or a love one has been injured due to a train accident, call Spiros Law 815-929-9292 to learn your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A fatal accident that occurred when a car and Metra train collided with a car while on its way to Chicago.

The accident took the lives of a 97-year-old woman and her 81-year-old neighbor, whom were both in the car. Also, eight passengers that were on the Rock Island Line passenger train were injured as a result of the collision.

The investigation into the accident is still underway at this time. A video from the railroad crossing never showed the car on the tracks because it was crossing the railroad just as the train passed.

The car was dragged by the train for a quarter mile before it came to a stop.

The front car also derailed  and damaged the rails. It has been said that the gate and crossing signals were working at the time of the crash.

Our condolences are with the friends and family of the victim at this time.

U.S. Highway 24 between Watseka and Crescent City was closed on Friday, July 15, 2011 until the morning of July 17, 2011 after a train carrying ethanol derailed

and one car leaked a chemical fluid.
 
The freight train was as 74-car T.P. & W. line between Iroquois county roads 1600 East and 1800 East in which the last car on that line fell on its side. This car contained denatured alcohol which came out of the vessel but was contained quickly. Firemen monitored traffic on country road 1700 for one mile due to the potential of drifting fumes.
 
Various county and state departments including Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and Iroquois County Sheriff’s Police as well as Watseka City Police assisted in setting up the detour in the area that included Rts. 24, 45/52 and 1/52.  Trainmaster Preston Nelson stated the derailment occurred because of a “faulty track.”
 
Train derailments carry the risk of spillage from the cargo within. If you or a loved one has been injured from a chemical leak due to a train derailment, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal options. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com <http://www.spiroslaw.com/> .

A mishap in the Norfolk Southern rail yard in west Kankakee cost a Cabery man his life on Wednesday, February 9, 2011.
 
Stanley Watts, 43, was working in the yard in the afternoon as two train cars were being switched. According to the Kankakee County Coroner Bob Gessner, Watts became trapped between two cars and suffered multiple injuries that lead to his death. Watts leaves behind a wife and children
 
Because the accident happened on railroad property, Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are not conducting an investigation.
 
Unfortunately, accidents at the work place can lead to a loss of life.

If this has happened to your family, contact Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal options in this situation. Visit our website at www.spiroslaw.com.

Braidwood was the scene of a train accident when an Eastbound Amtrak passenger train hit a car at a Braidwood railroad crossing that has warning lights and sounds but no gates.

 According to the Daily Journal, the victim was crossing the tracks northbound on Division Street when it was struck by the train just after 11 am on August 15th.

The car was then pushed a block east down the tracks.

 It would take rescuers 19 minutes to extract the victim from the wreckage. That Braidwood resident was airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. It was determined that the both the lights and sounds were working at the time of the accident.

 If you or a loved one has been hurt in a train accident, call Spiros Law to find out your legal options at (815) 929-9292.

Union Pacific tracks just north of Wilmington were closed for most of the day on Wednesday, July 28 when a southbound train derailed early Wednesday morning.

 The derailment was reported soon after midnight and was located just west of the Prairie Creek Grain Company at 29400 N. Illinois, Route 53. Eight cars were loaded with rock and gravel spilled on a section of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Statistics from a 2004 U.S. Department of Transportation study shows that train accidents (derailments, collisions, etc) in the state of Illinois occur at a rate of 8.92 per 100,000 people. If you or a loved one has been in an accident involving a train, contact Spiros Law, P.C. at 815-929-9292 to discuss your legal options.

A freight train crashed through a Chapel Steel Co. building last Thursday.

According to police reports, the freight train’s railcars were not ordered properly, causing the train to crash through the building’s rear.

The rear of the building had an opening big enough for a 14-foot-tall car, but the freight train was 16 feet tall. The building is located at 1101 E. 5000N Road near the Canadian National Railroad.

If you or anyone you know has been injured in a train accident, contact the Kankakee train accident attorneys of Spiros Law, P.C., at 815-929-9292.