Why was there equipment on the tracks? Passengers on CTA train crash have unanswered questions

Donald Wheeler was a passenger on the Yellow Line train that rear-ended a snowplow Thursday near Howard Street. He feels lucky to have walked away from the crash.

He was on his way downtown from Skokie for lunch at the time, and not far from the operator.

As the train, which had slowed from full speed, curved into the rail yard, he heard a “screeching and a bam.” The operator was knocked backward and fell through a metal partition and onto the train floor. 

“The force of the collision was so impactful, the next thing I saw was the operator on the floor of the train screaming in pain,” Wheeler, 59, said, adding the man had severe leg injuries.

Also in the car were two young women who, like Wheeler, declined medical attention, and a family with two small kids who appeared to be “bruised or scratched.” There was also a man who appeared to be in his mid-60s who had cuts on the top of his head and his forehead.

“But the big mystery to me is why was the snow removal equipment on the tracks on a 61-degree sunny day?” he asked.

It is unclear why the crash near Howard Street station, which left 38 people injured, three critically, occurred. Twenty-three people were taken to hospitals, and 15 people declined care. Service on the Yellow Line was still suspended Friday.

“We are working to restore service as soon as possible,” read an alert posted on the CTA’s website. “We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.” The transit agency urged commuters to allow extra time for travel.

Shuttle bus service is available between Howard and Skokie/Dempster, serving all affected stations during normal hours of operation.

“It’s really early in the investigation,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters Friday during at news briefing at the CTA’s Skokie Shop Facility. “Today was about collecting what we could and documenting the scene.”

Homendy said that investigators would gather “just facts and perishable evidence” before the line reopens — which she said would take about five days, though a reopening date wasn’t confirmed. And while a preliminary report would come in a few weeks, a full report could be months or even more than a year away.

As for CTA riders who might be fearful of a repeat crash, Homendy stressed the safety of trains as compared to cars.

“Rail transportation is incredibly safe,” Homendy said.

“We’re entering the holiday season, and a lot of people rely on the Yellow Line for mass transportation, so it’s going to be an inconvenience,” said North Shore Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. in a phone interview.

She added that she was eager for the NTSB to complete its investigation, which could probe whether an automatic braking system — which are required on federal rail lines but not the CTA — could have prevented the crash.

Margaret Costello was on the train with her 2-year-old twins and her parents. Her twins love trains, and they, too, were all heading downtown for lunch.

“This was the first time I’ve taken the L in a few years,” Costello, 31, said. “My 2-year-olds love choo-choo trains, and this was going to be their first choo-choo train ride. We almost took them out of their stroller to look out the window, but changed our mind, and we’re very happy we kept them strapped in.”

The family was seated near the back of the first train car. Suddenly, there was a bang, and she and her parents were thrown forward. Her mother smashed her face into what they think was a pole.

“The twins were actually the least injured; we kept them strapped in the stroller, so that kind of saved them,” Costello said, adding that they only suffered “bumps and bruises.”

Costello was uninjured, but her father, Stephen Helmer, suffered a concussion and needed 12 staples to close a gash in his head. Her mother suffered contusions to her face, leg and arm, a laceration to her face, and chipped teeth. Her parents, both 65, were released from the hospital late Thursday.

“We’re very fortunate and grateful that we’re doing well and were very concerned about the people that were in the front of the train, including the conductor,” Helmer told the Sun-Times.

The whole family was impressed by the swift work of emergency crews and the number of passengers willing to help others in the aftermath.

Alishan Zaidi, a 19-year-old health sciences student at DePaul, was one of several who rushed to check on people who were injured.

He was on his way to class, sitting in one of the seats closest to the conductor in the front car when he heard something “odd” that he’d never heard before.

“The weird thing that I heard is that after an underpass, as we started to pass the bend, I heard the brakes start to be hit, and afterward, I heard a screech for a couple seconds,” Zaidi said.

Immediately after the impact, he yelled out for people to call 911, then dialed the number himself and reported the accident.

Not feeling physically hurt, Zaidi began searching through the car for anyone injured. 

He noticed the conductor pinned in the wreckage. After the conductor freed himself, Zaidi saw he had blood on his head and a deep gash in his right thigh.

“I was at least trying to assure people that they were going to be OK,” Zaidi said. “I did the best I could to at least diagnose people of what their injuries were, at least do my best as a standard civilian.”

Zaidi declined medical attention at the scene, but said his leg and arm have been aching since after the adrenaline rush wore off. His leg hit a metal bar, and he has a little pain in his arm from the sudden movement during the impact.

At least two people have filed lawsuits, including Matt Jones, 67, of Skokie, and Cleon Hawkins, 52, of Chicago. Both were taken by ambulance to local hospitals after the crash, according to Clifford Law Offices, which filed the cases.

Helmer, who is an attorney, said it is “premature,” for him and his family to look into legal action but that “somebody is going to have to answer for this.”

“We’re certainly looking forward to the official findings that’ll probably come from the NTSB because this should never have happened,” Helmer said.