Chicago Train Derailment Injures 32: Conductor Was 'Extremely Tired'

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Chicago train derailment may have been caused because the conductor was overtired and fell asleep at the controls, officials revealed at a press conference. A CTA Blue Line train crashed through the stopping posts at O'Hare International Airport and flew up an escalator Monday, injuring 32 passengers in the process.

A worker puts up a tarp to cover the scene where a Chicago Transit Authority subway train crashed into a platform at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago March 24, 2014. Thirty-two people were injured after the train derailed and hit a platform early on Monday, with its front car landing on an escalator and stairs, a city fire official said. | (Photo: Reuters/Jim Young)

The Chicago train derailment occurred at about 2:50 a.m. Monday morning, which was fortunate because just several hours later the station would have been packed with commuters. Had the woman behind the wheel "nodded off" later in the day, fatalities could have been caused, according to the Associated Press.

"There are indications she dozed off, yes," CTA Union President Bob Kelly said at a press conference, adding that she had 17 hours between shifts but "had worked a lot of hours in the past week."

"She assured me that there is no problem with her passing the drug and alcohol, that was not a factor in this. She said she was extremely tired," he continued.

Although the conductor was hospitalized along with 32 other passengers, the National Transportation Safety Board will be interviewing her. Most of the passengers have been released from the hospital for minor injuries already.

The derailed Blue Line train has also been left where it is almost at the top of the escalator so investigators can determine the cause of the accident. Surveillance cameras at the station will also be checked as part of the investigation.

"It appears as though the train would have been going faster than a train normally birthing at this station would be," Brian Steele, a Chicago Transit Authority spokesman, told reporters. "Normally a train pulls in at just a couple miles an hour and pulls into the station. Obviously, this train did not stop, so speed could be a factor here."

Shuttle buses are currently in operation to get commuters and passengers to O'Hare Airport.

Over 80,000 people ride the Blue Line O'Hare branch daily, transit officials said.