UPDATED 12:29 P.M.
A man was killed Tuesday, Dec. 27 when a Metra train hit the vehicle he was driving.
Michael Levgard, 64, of Palatine was was headed north on Brockway Street at about 7:34 a.m. when his 1999 Mercury Sable was hit by an inbound Metra train. The vehicle was pushed along the tracks and came to rest at Palatine Road. The car was pushed about 1,000 feet.
Palatine Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
The Palatine Fire Department said that firefighters quickly realized that Levgard had not survived the crash. It took about 25 minutes extricating him from the vehicle.
Palatine fire officials said the Metra train involved in the crash sustained minor damage to the front car which required some maintenance before the train could be moved.
One passenger on the train required minor medical assistance. The passenger was treated at the scene by paramedics. The vehicle was removed from the tracks at 10:30 a.m.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the train was an express train and was traveling between 50 mph and 75 mph. The newspaper also identified the train as 622 and that it had left McHenry at 6:53 a.m.
A witness told the Tribune that the gates were down at the time of the crash and that a second train was stopped at the Palatine station when the express train came through.
Rest in peace bogie we love you!
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111227/news/712279935/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-up-northwest-line-shut-down-after-train-hits-car-in-palatine-20111227,0,5987451.story
2: The gates do not go up and down all the time. That's a malfunctioning gate and something that would be fixed owing to the obvious safety hazard. Such malfunctions would get reported very quickly. 3: I, unequivocally, believe the Palatine Fire Chief who is legally required to ascertain the status of the gate equipment. For him to lie about that would be criminal negligence for starters. I can't fathom him doing that. 4: Lamplighter's southern most tip is 80 yards from the intersection of Brockway and the middle track. To castigate Mr. Gecco for being 100 yards away while you were no closer than 80 yards is extremely disingenuous. You were not 10-20 yards away if you were in Lamplighter's.
what can I say you know everything! I never said the fire chief lied, they are told about the gates via the rail road people, who is responsible for the care of the gates. I did not measure my distance, and I am not saying Mr Grecco did not see what he saw I said I was closer that is all. and if you go to downtown palatine frequently you will see the gates going up and down at brockway ,when there is no train anywhere in sight and when there's a train stopped at the station I hope you don't ever have to see what I saw! Hopefully we will all learn to look 2-3 times b4 we cross any rail road crossing even when the gates are up! Have a nice day!
I first heard of this story on the radio and it was presented, not as a tragedy to a man, his family and friends but, as you so described, a big inconvenience to the poor commuters. Well, please accept my condolences for the interuption to your busy life! Geeze!
I feel badly for Levgard's family. But it's not just a matter of an inconvenience to commuters; it is a safety risk for the people on the train. Other people's stupidity is putting my life in danger, and frankly, that makes me very angry. No one has any valid reason for disobeying the barriers unless they are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that there are no moving trains in the vicinity. No, I don't think that the punishment for being stupid should be death... but sometimes when you do something stupid, death is the CONSEQUENCE. So don't "Geeze!" me, Ellen. You weren't there. You have no idea what happened. Don't you dare call me judgmental, because that makes you the pot calling the kettle black. You are judging me for my comments. Get over yourself.