LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — Train service is back on track in Lake Forest after a southbound Metra train heading to Chicago collided with construction equipment at around noon on Sunday.
Passengers said the train came to an abrupt stop near Everett and Waukegan Roads after striking a Metra front-end loader. A work crew had been replacing tiles in the area at the time.
Train traffic on the Milwaukee District North Line was halted in both directions for over three hours while crews cleared the scene.
The Metra employee operating the front-end loader was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
It remains unclear how many passengers were on board, but some shared what they saw.
“To the side of us, you could see a construction worker and his vehicle, and they were saying he got hit. The window was smashed, he had some blood on his face, but he was OK when the paramedics got there,” Erin Gross said.
Investigators from Lake Forest, Amtrak, Metra and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Southern Railroad responded to process the scene.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation. Amtrak has not yet responded to requests for comment.
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