The Oak Park law firm of Coplan + Crane captured a train accident at a railroad crossing on video, using a camera they had set up months ago to show how dangerous the crossing is.
The crash occurred at 87th Street and Pulaski Road in Chicago’s Scottsdale neighborhood on February 12, 2020, at around 7:30 p.m., leaving 4 people seriously injured, one fatally.
Crane said a local business owner had given the firm permission to install a camera at the crossing late last year. The firm is collecting evidence as part of a pending lawsuit involving a fatal collision at the same location nearly five years ago. He said Wednesday’s crash was “virtually identical” to the 2015 accident that killed two Chicago women.
“This should not happen,” he said. “This could have been prevented and they just keep letting it happen.”
In the video, the crossing gate is shown coming down on the trunk of a Hyundai Elantra. The driver first appears to put the car in reverse, then accelerates forward, into the path of an oncoming train. The train strikes the car, which then struck 19-year old Christopher Davis, who was waiting to cross the street. Davis was pinned under the train.
Metra spokesperson Meg Reile said the car’s driver, a 26-year-old woman, and her two female passengers, ages 23 and 28, were all seriously injured. Davis later died from his injuries.
Crane emphasized that the crossing is extremely dangerous and called for changes to be made to increase the safety of drivers and pedestrians.
“You can’t just put your head in the sand,” he said. “It’s going to happen again.”
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