2nd Teen Hit By Metra Train In Joliet Remains Missing

JOLIET, IL — Metra officials t0ld Joliet Patch Friday morning that police and firefighters are still searching for the second teen who was hit by a Metra train this week in Joliet near Pilcher Park. Authorities tried finding the teen on Thursday without success. The search was suspended late in the afternoon because of dangerous conditions in the nearby Hickory Creek, Metra spokesman Tom Miller told Patch.

On Thursday, the Will County Coroner's Office announced that one of the teens who was struck and killed by the Metra train Wednesday night has been identified as 17-year-old Jacob Manka of Mokena.

Metra spokesman Tom Miller said Friday that there were four people in the group of pedestrians who were trespassing near the train bridge Wednesday evening, but only three were on the tracks at the time of the collision. According to Metra, the three were trying to outrun the train as it sped along the tracks, and two of the teens were hit.

Metra trains running along Route 30 between Joliet and New Lenox often reach speeds of 65 to 70 mph.

"The engineer saw three (people) on the tracks," Miller told Patch, "they were running away from the train, obviously on the tracks. A fourth (person) was not on the tracks."

Original Patch coverage here: Mokena Teen Killed By Joliet Metra Train