Despite Reports, No Pedestrian Hit By Train In La Grange

LA GRANGE, IL – A Metra train engineer believed he had hit a pedestrian in La Grange early Thursday morning, but that was not the case, a Metra spokesman said Friday.

The pedestrian was close enough to the train about 4:45 a.m. that the engineer thought a collision had occurred, spokesman Michael Gillis told Patch in an interview. That caused delays to train service for a while Thursday morning.

"It was a near miss. The train did not strike the person," Gillis said.

The incident occurred near the Stone Avenue train station in La Grange.

Early Thursday morning, Metra tweeted that a pedestrian was struck in La Grange. News reports reflected that message.

In an email to Patch, La Grange Police Chief Robert Wardlaw said Metra handles investigations involving its trains. However, he said his agency takes charge of investigations dealing with other rail carriers on BNSF lines.