Has anyone criticized Bush yet for not being on site to help coordinate the rescue effort with the local officials?
Dozens of emergency vehicles and a life-flight helicopter were at the scene of the derailment. It took place around 8:36 a.m. near 47th St. and Wentworth Avenues, police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said.
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/12672998.htm
Bush at it again!
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_260095930.html
>>(CBS) CHICAGO A helicopter landing zone has been set-up for emergency medical airlifts after a major Metra train derailment this morning at 8:36 near 46th and LaSalle by the Dan Ryan Expressway. Reports indicate that part of the 47th Street viaduct collapsed.<<
Damn you, George Bush!
At least 20 ambulances, 12 fire trucks, and about 10 police squad cars responded to the scene of the accident, which authorities said happened at 8:36 a.m.
The first two cars of train No. 504 could be seen sitting about a 100 feet away from the rest of the train, tilted off the track.
CNN confirmed the death through the Cook County Medical Examiner.
Early reports said at least six people were taken on stretchers to ambulances waiting on the tracks. Some passengers were being treated on the scene. No information was immediately available on which hospital the injured were being taken to.
Passengers could be seen sitting on the side of the train next to the tracks. Cement appeared to have crumbled off the bridge at 47th and Federal Streets, where the train was stopped. Streets in the area were blocked in both directions.
Police officials are scheduled to speak with news media within the hour, according to a police lieutenant on the scene.
No further details were immediately available.
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The Fox News alert I heard had 75 injured, but news stories I am reading say 6 injured... it may just be that 6 were taken away on stretchers?
The first two cars of train No. 504 could be seen sitting about a 100 feet away from the rest of the train.
They were tilted off the track.
At least 20 ambulances, 12 fire trucks, and about 10 police squad cars were on the scene at about 9:15 a.m.
Some passengers were being treated on the scene. No information was immediately available on which hospital the injured were being taken to.
Passengers could be seen sitting on the side of the train next to the tracks.
Stephanie Smith, who was sitting in the second car in the upper tier, said she heard brakes screeching, then the train came to a halt.
"I just went flying into the safety seat bar and fell to the ground," said Smith, a master's student at DePaul University, told the newspaper. "We were skidding out of control. Weaving back and forth. People were weeping and screaming."
Cement appeared to have crumbled off the bridge at 47th and Federal Streets, where the train was stopped.
Firefighters were raising ladders to the elevated track. There was a 30-foot gap between two rail cars, and several broken windows.
I've ridden Heritage Corridor Metra trains to Joliet. Bumpy, swaying ride (to the point that it was difficult to read the paper). I always wondered.
bush's war on trains begins...
Upon hearing of the Chicago train derailment, New Orleans mayor Nagin was seen running in circles, shouting "Mayors and children first!" Louisiana governor Blanco said she would get back to us on a statement sometime tomorrow, or the day after that...
It's been expressed in many different forms, but the media bias makes it all seem plausible: The train derailment is Bush's fault, because he should have never been President but instead a train engineer so that he could have prevented this accident. Now when anything goes wrong, just blame Bush-it removes all personal responsibility and makes you feel much better-if you're a liberal.
The hard part will be stopping the locals from climbing up on the tracks and pretending that they have whiplash.
Typically, a CTA bus with only 3 on board and involved in an accident will usually have 20 or so "victims" being carried off the bus before it's all over.
I hope there were no sailors on that metra train. Great Lakes Naval Training Facility is up there. My son just graduated from his Navy A-school at the end of July. He'd take the Metra into Chicago almost every weekend with his buddies. A lot of sailors took the metra into Chicago.
Praying for the safety of all on that train.
sneakers
12 minutes ago
A commuter train was going almost 60 mph above the speed limit just before it derailed, killing two people and injuring dozens of others, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday.
Mark Rosenker said the Metra train was traveling at 69 mph and should not have been going faster than 10 mph when it switched tracks at a crossover just before jumping the tracks Saturday.
"Sixty-nine miles an hour is very, very fast when you're dealing with a 10-mile-an-hour restriction," Rosenker said.
The speed information came from a preliminary reading of one of the train's three electronic data recorders, popularly known as "black boxes," Rosenker said.
Investigators conducted a three-hour interview Sunday with the train's engineer. The 41-year-old man had been on the job for 45 days after completing Metra's six-month training program, which included at least some training along the route where the derailment occurred. He also had worked for more than five years as a CSX Corp. freight train engineer.
The double-decker commuter train was headed into Chicago from Joliet on Saturday morning with 185 passengers and four crew members when its locomotive and five rail cars jumped the tracks about 5 miles south of downtown.
The train began to derail as it switched tracks, striking a steel bridge just beyond the crossover. Rosenker said that collision damaged at least one rail car and likely contributed to at least one of the fatalities.
The train and the track had just been inspected Friday, said Judy Pardonnet, a spokeswoman for Metra, the commuter rail system that services the Chicago area.
Transportation officials also determined Sunday that train signals were working, meaning the engineer should have known he was approaching a crossover and should have had time to slow the train upon seeing the signals, even if he was traveling 69 mph, Rosenker said.
Extensive damage to the train's undercarriage has prevented investigators from examining its brakes, but it appears the brakes engaged as the train was switching tracks. It was unclear if the engineer applied the brakes or if they engaged automatically, Rosenker said.
The train engineer, three crew members and dispatchers were all tested for drugs and alcohol, which is standard procedure, Pardonnet said.
On Monday, the NTSB planned to examine radio transmissions from a control tower and interview a dispatcher and trainee who were working in the tower at the time of the accident.
The train's engineer is taking three days of paid leave for "trauma debriefing." Pardonnet said no decisions have been made about his future employment, although findings from the NTSB investigation could determine whether he keeps his job.
A similar derailment occurred on the same stretch of track in 2003, injuring about 45 people. A preliminary NTSB report found that the train was going almost 70 mph at the location where it was supposed to switch from one track to the other.
Pardonnet said the two derailments may have been just a coincidence. "I don't think it's anything specific to this area, but it's still under investigation," she said.
Jane Cuthbert, 22, of Bourbonnais, died on the train, Pardonnet said. A 30-year-old woman died at a hospital.
They were the first people killed in a Metra derailment since it took over commuter rail services in the region in 1984.
The injured passengers were taken to 15 hospitals, and 15 of them remained hospitalized Sunday, Pardonnet said. She did not have information on their conditions.
Train service on the Rock Island District Line resumed about four hours after the derailment, and the cleanup from the accident could cause short delays during Monday's commute, Pardonnet said.