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CHICAGO (GaeaTimes.com)- A South Side woman aged 86 died after being hit by a Metra train adjacent to the Beverly Hills-95th Street station. The incident took place Wednesday night. The woman named Nina P. Neely belonged to the Riverdale community of Chicago. She was actually moving a wheelchair across the tracks. At that time, she was struck by the Rock Island District train No. 529. Tom Miller a spokesperson for Metra confirmed the news. He also said that the Metra authorities were not at fault since the rail crossing gates were closed. The warning lights were on as well and the train engineer honked the horns a number of times. Still, the accident could not be averted.
The Metra train engineer tried his best to avoid the accident and he applied the emergency brake but the train still hit the elderly woman as the speed was quite high. She was shifted to Christ Medical Center in a serious condition and died soon after. The Medical Examiner’s office at Cook County reported that an autopsy was carried out later. It was evident that she died of the injury which was too great for her to overcome. The railways termed it an accident. The train services in the route got stalled for some time but it resumed later.
It is not clear whether the woman could not hear the siren or see the warning lights flashing. Tom Miller, the Metra spokesperson said that the train engineer cannot be held guilty as he did whatever anyone would have done in a similar situation. An witness also echoed the report published by the police.
