Local News

Green Line Derailment Blamed On Operator Error

Green Line Service Disruption Expected To Continue Into Thursday Morning

CHICAGO (CBS) ― In the fourth major breakdown on the CTA 'L' system in the past 22 months, 14 people were taken to hospitals Wednesday morning when a CTA 'L' train derailed on the Green Line.

Authorities Wednesday afternoon blamed the accident, at least in part, on operator error.

The train derailed on the CTA Green Line near 59th Street. One train car continued due south, while another decoupled and veered off to the west. CTA President Ron Huberman said Wednesday morning investigators are looking at the signal system.

Late in the day CTA officials said it appears the train's operator contributed to the derailment by going through a red light, which had signaled the operator to stop.

For some reason, he then overrode the trip device that would have automatically cut power to the train. The train then hit a switching apparatus at track-level that was out of place. That caused the derailment.
 
"This particular operator had 31 years of service with the CTA," Huberman said. "We pulled his record back for four years and in the last four years he's had no violations of safety-related items whatsoever."

The driver is facing extensive questioning and will undergo a mandatory drug test.

A total of 24 people were taken off the train by paramedics, Fire Media Assistant Director Eve Rodriguez said. Fourteen of those passengers, jerked and jostled, were injured. Three were reported in fair to serious condition and 11 people were reported in good to fair condition. She did not know the nature of their injuries. Ten people taken from the train refused medical treatment, Rodriguez said.

"We utilized elevating platforms to get up in the cars to start to do some triage and some assessment in the cars and then we actually utilized a CTA stairwell to bring some of the passengers down," said Fire Dept. Commissioner Raymond Orozco.

Their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Among the hospitalized, some were taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, and St. Bernard Hospital and Medical Center received two who were in stable condition.

An EMS Plan II, automatically sending 10 ambulances, and still and box alarm were called at 10:10 a.m. for the derailment, Rodriguez said. Fire trucks with ladders and snorkels were sent to the scene to rescue the victims.

Two train cars on the four-car train were derailed, with the leading car abutting the one behind it at an angle of approximately 150 degrees. The train cars were separated at the switching point where the southbound Green Line splits into the 63rd and Ashland branch and the 63rd and Cottage Grove branch.

Ambulances were staged in a grassy area alongside the 'L' tracks, with red, yellow and green mats set up for passengers who might be in serious to critical, fair to serious, and good condition, respectively. About 15 people were sitting on the green mat, only a few on the yellow mat, and nobody on the red mat.

Renee Davis said her sister, Mary Ann Baker, was on the train and called from her cell phone shortly after the derailment. Davis said she could hear other passengers "hollering, screaming, praying."

"She said it just spin around, it just tipped," Davis said of her sister. "She hit her head, her whole body."

Don Medina normally takes the train, but did not on Wednesday morning.

"I actually was coming home and just getting in the shower, and I just heard this horrible screeching sound, a sound something like one of those sound effect animals from a horror movie," Medina said.

He said after finishing showering and shaving, he heard numerous police and fire vehicles arrive, and thought there had been a shooting or major fire.

"It was sharp and it was quick," Medina said. "And it was cutting. It cut straight through. It definitely got my attention."

The CTA says that due to the accident, there is currently no Green Line service south of the Garfield station and service is not expected to be restored in time for the Thursday morning rush.

"We do anticipate that the eastbound branch of the Green Line, which is the branch that goes to Cottage Grove and King Drive on 63rd Street, will most likely not be open by the morning rush as we continue to do inspections and as we continue to do repairs," Huberman said.

Shuttle buses will help Green Line customers complete their commute. Service should be back to normal by the Thursday evening rush.

CTA will continue to operate bus shuttle service in both directions as a substitute for Green Line service.

The derailment scene is close to the Dan Ryan Expressway and Washington Park, and a short distance west of the University of Chicago campus.

This is the fourth major incident on the CTA that has forced evacuation and Fire Department attention in the past two years.

On July 11, 2006, a Blue Line train derailed in the subway between the Clark/Lake and Grand stops, causing a smoky fire to break out. About 150 people were hospitalized, mostly for smoke inhalation.

On Dec. 19, 2006, two cars of a four-car an Orange Line train headed for Midway Airport derailed near Roosevelt Road. No one was hospitalized, but 24 people were evacuated and eight were examined by paramedics.

This past April 15, passengers self-evacuated when a Blue Line became stuck due to mechanical issues near the Clark/Lake stop, prompting the CTA to shut down power and bringing massive chaos. The derailment caused 1,500 commuters to be stuck in the subway, some for more than two hours. Seven people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

In addition to the major incidents, there was also a minor derailment on April 20, when a Red Line train was pulling out of the Howard Street terminal. No one was injured, but passengers had to leave the train.

The worst mishap on the CTA was in 1977, when an eight-car Lake-Dan Ryan train bumped a six-car Ravenswood (Brown Line) train and crashed to the ground 20 feet below at Wabash Avenue and Lake Street. Eleven people were killed in that accident, including seven passengers, two people under the train, and two others whose location was never determined.

In the past, infrastructure problems have been to blame for several incidents on the CTA. It has yet to be determined whether infrastructure played a role in the CTA derailment on Wednesday, but an investigation is underway.

CBS 2's Mike Parker, Kris Habermehl, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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