Three people presumed to be a family are dead after a Metra commuter train smashed into their vehicle in south Chicago, officials said.
The victims — including a man, woman, and a 5-year-old girl — were killed when a train struck the vehicle at a rail crossing just after 5 p.m. local time on Sunday. The train was traveling at about 79 mph when the collision occurred and continued to push the victims’ vehicle for about a half mile before coming to a stop, officials said.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the girl as Essence Ransberry, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Officials did not immediately identify the adult victims.
“It’s heart-rending,” said Metra spokesman Michael Gillis, according to the outlet. “It’s the worst thing I’ve seen. I’ve been doing this job for 12 years. This is the worst scene I’ve seen.”
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The train was carrying 41 passengers when it partially derailed, and the front car, which struck the vehicle, caught on fire, according to officials.
Three train passengers sustained minor injuries, two were taken to area hospitals, and the 43-year-old male was also transported to a hospital in good condition, officials said. Uninjured passengers were taken to a nearby train station to continue their journeys.
Essence Ransberry, 5, has been identified as one of the victims in a deadly crash involving a Metra train in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. https://t.co/4Vl1ljO82t
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) June 28, 2021
Metra is investigating the crash, but there is currently “no indication the gates were malfunctioning,” Gillis said.
Witnesses said it looked as though the vehicle, a Chevy Avalanche, tried to beat the train at the crossing, according to a local ABC affiliate.
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Three other people, including a 10-year-old girl, were killed in a separate crash near Chicago over the weekend when a train struck their minivan.
The girl, along with a 36-year-old male and a 38-year-old female, were all pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which occurred in East Chicago, Indiana, about 25 miles from downtown Chicago.
