South Shore Line train strikes truck, kills man
Thursday, December 6th, 2007Authorities block U.S. Highway 12 at County Line Road in Gary, Ind. Wednesday morning as a Tow truck collects the wreckage of a vehicle that was struck by a westbound South Shore Line commuter train in the Miller section of Gary.
A 59-year-old man was killed this morning when his Ford Ranger truck apparently became stuck on a patch of ice at a Gary train crossing and was hit by an oncoming South Shore Line commuter train, authorities said.
The man, identified this afternoon as Charles Jones of Gary, was hit around 5:30 a.m. after he drove around downed gates at the crossing at U.S. Highway 12 and County Line Road, said John Parsons, spokesman for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which owns and operates the train.
“The gates and flashers were operational, and he went around the gates,” said Parsons, citing information gathered by the railroad’s police department.
South Shore train No. 104 slammed into the Pickup truck on tracks between the Portage/Ogden Dunes and Miller stations, Parsons said. The train was scheduled to arrive in downtown Chicago at 6:38 a.m.
“My understanding is he was trying to move forward and might have gotten stuck on a patch of ice,” said Jeff Wells, chief deputy for the Lake County coroner’s office.
The man was the only person in the pickup.
All westbound train service west of Portage/Ogden Dunes was temporarily suspended while the accident scene was cleared. Although service did resume, Trains 207 and 214 were canceled for the day.
South Shore commuter Lisa Almaraz, 32, said her train from East Chicago was delayed about 90 minutes because of the accident and was standing room only.
