Officials: Metra Pedestrian Death Was a Suicide

Update May 19 at 4:54 p.m.

The Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed yesterday's incident as a suicide, Triblocal reported this afternoon. The victim's name has not been released publically. He was in his 20s, officals said.

Stay tuned for more updates from Patch. For earlier updates and the original story, please see below.

Update May 19 at 12:45 p.m.

Almost 24 hours after yesterday's fatal Metra-pedestrian crash near the intersection of Lehigh Avenue and Thistle Road, Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis told Patch there still has been no identification of the male victim.

"It's in the hands of the [Cook County] coroner now," he said.

Gillis was able to share information from the train's engineer, recounting the moments before the train hit the victim.

“When this happened, the engineer saw this man walk out of the bushes along the railroad right away and step in front of the train,” Gillis said. “The engineer sounded the horn but this person did not get out of the way and the engineer was not able to stop the train in time.”

The victim has not been identified by the Medical Examiner's Office either, said spokesperson Pamela Smith.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Medical Examiner's Office on cause of death. 

Updated May 18 at 7:03 p.m.

Metra officials have confirmed that the victim—an unidentified male—has died.

No more information is available at this time, Metra Spokesperson Michael Gillis said.

A commuter emailed Patch shortly after the incident:

"Just passed by the area on another train heading in the opposite direction," the reader said. "The inbound train is still stopped. Looks like a body on the tracks with the police yellow cover over the remains. Police have the area (foot and car) traffic blocked off. So sad."

Stay tuned to Patch for more updates. To catch up on the original story, read below.

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Commuters hoping to catch inbound train #2148 on Metra’s North Line may be waiting a while.

Around 5:45 p.m. this evening, a train struck a pedestrian between the North Glenview and Glenview stops near the intersection of Lehigh Avenue and Thistle Road, Metra Spokesperson Michael Gillis told Patch.

“No further information about the incident or the pedestrian’s condition are available at this time,” he said.

Metra police are responsible for investigating the incident, explained Glenview Police Commander Jeff Ader. Officers are currently assisting Metra with traffic around the scene, he said.

Also on the scene, the Cook County Sheriff's Police are assisting Metra police in taking photographs and gathering investigative evidence. Officers covered the victim's body with a yellow sheet as local residents came out of their homes after hearing horns and seeing police lights, one onlooker said.

Incidents like this one are not a new occurance, For information on other recent accidents and tips on train safety, watch the video above.

— Virgina Bidwill also contributed to this article.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates as they become available.