Family of Victim in Chicago Train Accident Files Lawsuit

July 16, 2010 - Two train operators are facing a lawsuit from the family of a woman killed when a train hit her SUV. According to reports at the Chicago Tribune, the victim's family filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court on Wednesday. Both the Illinois Central Railroad Co. and Wisconsin Central Ltd. were named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stems from a train accident on April 16 in University Park, a suburb of Chicago. A 26-year-old woman died when her SUV was hit by a train. Her car was stopped at the time because of a traffic jam at the intersection of Governors Highway and Stuenkel Road. An investigation later found that the gates and flashing lights that accompany nearly every railroad crossing had been turned off by repair workers. The train was traveling nearly 80 miles per hour when it crashed into the victim's SUV.

The Illinois Central Railroad Co. and Wisconsin Central Ltd. were both responsible for maintaining that particular railroad crossing. Amtrak, the train's operator, was not named in the lawsuit, but it could be forced to pay damages later because of an agreement with the Illinois Central Railroad Co.