Victims in Fatal Train vs. Car Crash Identified

Two Chicago women, who were killed Monday afternoon when an outbound Metra train hit the car they were riding in at a Hometown train crossing, have been identified.

• Also on Patch: Metra Train Strikes Car in Hometown, 2 Dead, 4 Hurt

The victims are cousins Alexis Kemp, 18, of the 6400 block of South Oakley, and Juniel Kemp, 20, of the 6900 block of South Lowe. Both were pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center about an hour after the accident occurred, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said.

According to Hometown police and fire officials, the commuter train struck a Chevy Impala carrying six young people at 87th Street and Pulaski Road in Hometown shortly after 1 p.m. The women were sitting in the front and back passenger seats when the train slammed into the passenger side of the car.

Hometown Police Chief Charles Forsyth said the impact of the train hitting the car knocked the vehicle approximately 70 feet up the train tracks. All six occupants had to be extricated from the car.

Family members told ABC 7 Chicago that Alexis had just found out she was pregnant. The riders in the car were related or worked at the same place.

Forsyth said the 17-year-old driver may have gotten stuck on the tracks waiting for traffic to clear ahead of him. The accident remains under investigation by Metra officials.

As the train approached, Juniel Kemp shielded the 3-year-old boy riding next to her in the back seat from the train’s impact. The boy escaped the accident with a non-life threatening injuries to his pelvic bone, ABC 7 reported.

The 17-year-old male driving the car received minor injuries. The other injured included 20-year-old male and a 17-year-old female. Their conditions were reported as serious. All were brought to Advocate Christ Medical Center.

This story has been updated with new information.