Man Struck by Metra Train at Downtown Highland Park Station

A man was struck by a northbound Metra train after he exited a train in downtown Highland Park early in the morning of July 30.

The train continued its journey northbound until it was stopped in North Chicago after police contacted Union Pacific, which operates the trains, about the accident.

Highland Park police and paramedics responded to the call at about 12:33 a.m. They arrived at the station and found the man with a serious leg injury on the west side of the tracks, according to Chicago Tribune.

He was transported to the NorthShore Evanston Hospital in stable condition. Alcohol was revealed to be a contributing factor in the accident, police said.

"What it looks like was that the train had stopped at the depot and he exited the train. As the train began to pull away, the victim was involved in contact with the train,” Deputy Police Chief Timothy Wilinski told the Chicago Tribune.

Metra spokeswoman Meg Riele told the Chicago Tribune that there was no evidence that the man was caught in the door of the train because a light in the locomotive cab would have shown that the doors weren’t closed.

Riele also said the conductor and crew are required to ensure that all passengers who exit the train are away from the doors before they leave the station.

After an accident like this occurs occurs, "We inspect the train to see if there is any evidence on the train that we made contact with this person. Also, the crew has to be interviewed by authorities to determine if they were aware of anything. The fact that they made it all the way to North Chicago indicates that they not aware,” Riele said to the Chicago Tribune.

Additionally, Riele stated that there might have been more passengers than usual on the train because of Chicago’s Lollapalooza music festival.