Chicago Woman Injured After Metra Train Hits SUV in Hometown

Crews load SUV on to flatbed after it was struck by an inbound Metra train at 87th Street and Pulaski Road in Hometown early Wednesday morning. | Burbank Beat

A Chicago woman was taken to the hospital after an inbound Metra train struck her SUV at a Hometown railroad crossing Wednesday morning.

Train service in both directions at 87th Street and Pulaski Road was stopped for about 45 minutes after a Metra train #808 struck the woman’s 2005 Chrysler SUV around 7:25 a.m.

The commuter train had left the Orland Park station at 6:47 a.m. Wednesday and was headed for downtown Chicago, Metra spokesman Tom Miller said.

The Hometown Fire Department transported the driver to Advocate Christ Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The same crossing at 87th and Pulaski was the scene of a deadly accident on Dec. 28, in which two women were killed.

Hometown Police Chief Charles Forsyth said the Chicago woman’s vehicle was traveling eastbound on 87th Street when she was hit by a 17-year-old driver turning south on Pulaski Road.

“We’re still piecing it together,” Forsyth said. “As a result of the collision, she ended up on the tracks when the train was coming.”

The gates were not yet down when the Chrysler SUV ended up on the tracks. Forsyth said he was told that train was braking when it struck the vehicle.

Metra trains and traffic were both on the move again after 45 minutes.

READ: Burbank Beat also has more pictures and a report.