Two elementary school students were killed and another person was injured on Wednesday morning after a westbound Amtrak train struck a vehicle in Western Springs, Illinois.
Dave Palzet, superintendent of Pleasantdale School District 107, revealed that the victims of the deadly collision attended Pleasantdale Elementary School in La Grange.
“This morning, two of our elementary students were involved in a fatal train crash in Western Springs,” Palzet said in the statement. “Words cannot express the heartbreak and sorrow we feel as we mourn this devastating loss.”
The district did not release the students’ names or ages out of respect for the families. It also said grief counselors and crisis staff would be provided on campus for additional support for students affected by their deaths.
Video from local media shows fresh flames and dark plumes of smoke billowing from the scene. The aftermath of the crash shows a badly burnt vehicle laying on the tracks and a stopped Amtrak train. Additional aerial footage shows debris from the vehicle scattered along the tracks.
“I heard this loud boom, and then all of a sudden I saw smoke and flames,” Mike Struglinski, one of the witnesses, told a local media outlet.
Emergency crews responded to the fiery crash on Wolf Road in Western Springs, which is located about 15 miles west of downtown Chicago. Nearby roads and railroad crossings were closed as authorities investigated the deadly collision.
A statement from Amtrak said that Train 381, which was traveling from Chicago to Quincy, was canceled. Amtrak at the time said it was providing a bus for alternate transportation for those affected passengers.
The collision halted all trains on the line, according to Metra, the commuter rail system that serves the six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Metra said it was notified of the crash at about 8:20 a.m.
“Tracks 1 and 2 are cleared for train movement between Stone Avenue and Highlands,” Metra BNF said in an update Wednesday afternoon. “Trains will resume making regularly scheduled stops to and from Aurora, and significant Metra BNSF cancellations are in effect due to an earlier police investigation. Station crowding may also occur this evening at Chicago Union Station.”
Customers should also anticipate delays, it added.
Details about the circumstances leading up to the collision, including the cause of the crash, have not been released.
The condition of the injured person and the circumstances surrounding the collision remain unclear as authorities continue to investigate the cause.
