Jun 30, 2009 10:48 pm US/Central
2 Men Hit By Metra While Crossing Tracks; 1 Dead
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Two men were struck by a Metra train at 75th and Exchange while attempting to cross the tracks and beat the train.
CBS
You're in a hurry to get somewhere and then the red lights start flashing. The gates come down because a train is fast approaching. Do you wait or try to beat it? As CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports the dangerous decision may have caused a deadly accident Tuesday on Chicago's south side.
The man who died has been identified as Ronald Lucas, a man in his 50s.
Witnesses say he was with another man who was also struck, a 28-year-old, who had just cashed a check at a nearby currency exchange.
Witnesses say they saw the crossing gates lower and the lights flash. They heard the bells ring and the train horn blare. All warnings witnesses say two men ignored this evening when they tried to cross the tracks in front of a train at 75th and Exchange.
Firefighters say the Metra train hit both men.
"All you saw was the gym shoe going up in the air and he was underneath," said witness Carmenlita Hollister. "We thought he was underneath."
Hollister was working at the currency exchange just a few feet away and watched the incident unfold.
"As soon as they left out of the door, they crossed the street, but the guard rails was already down," Hollister said. "And I guess they was trying to beat the train so they went around and tried to beat the train. And that's when the train hit both of them.'
"It wasn't like the train was far away," said witness Sonora Alfred. "The man sounded his horn on the train, and it was like they just stepped right in front of the train. And other guy stepped in front and the other guy, the train knocked him back."
"I started crying because they're 28 years old. They lost their life for nothing," Hollister said.
Metra says the train left downtown Chicago at 4 p.m., but investigators are still trying to gather details of exactly what happened when it got to the location of the accident.
People nearby say it's a grim reminder of the potential danger on the tracks.
"They just stepped out in front of the train and wanted to beat the train and the train was going too fast for them to be running," Alfred said. "And I'm going, god, I know this man's not going to run out here, both of them run out there. And then all of a sudden…"
"You cannot beat a train," Hollister said. "You cannot beat a train."
The 28-year-old male remains in critical condition Tuesday night.
The train involved in the accident was the South Chicago branch of Metra's Electric Line. Even though there are businesses around the tracks, the company says it isn't aware of any surveillance video that might have captured the crash.
People who live and work near here say folks try to beat the trains on foot and in cars all the time. And about a year ago, they say an elderly man was killed when he tried to do the same thing.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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