ryanbytes Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 At about 7 this morning a northbound Brown line train hit a car that went through the gates at Kedzie. The train derailed and took a chunk out of the platform. The car was mangled but the driver was still alive. Here's a link to all the pictures I took after I called 911 and got some clothes on. There are no pictures of the car that was hit. I took care of the driver until the fire department arrived and there are things nobody should ever have to see. Kedzie Derailment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Unbelieveable! This shouldve never have happened!. It just kills me the arrogance of people who think its okay to go around downed crossing gates. I got no more to say about this!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 At about 7 this morning a northbound Brown line train hit a car that went through the gates at Kedzie. The train derailed and took a chunk out of the platform. The car was mangled but the driver was still alive. Here's a link to all the pictures I took after I called 911 and got some clothes on. There are no pictures of the car that was hit. I took care of the driver until the fire department arrived and there are things nobody should ever have to see. Kedzie Derailment And the Darwin Award for Stupidity goes to.... the driver of the car on the tracks!!! *hold for applause* Seriously, all Railroad Crossings need Quad Gates to prevent this crap from happening. All R.R-xings should have Quad Gates!!! It'll cost the Illinois civilians tax dollars to do, but I think it's worth the investment. If this jerk tries to sue the CTA, I hope the Judge gives him/her a hearty, five minute laugh, and throws the whole thing out of court!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 And the Darwin Award for Stupidity goes to.... the driver of the car on the tracks!!! *hold for applause* Seriously, all Railroad Crossings need Quad Gates to prevent this crap from happening. All R.R-xings should have Quad Gates!!! It'll cost the Illinois civilians tax dollars to do, but I think it's worth the investment. If this jerk tries to sue the CTA, I hope the Judge gives him/her a hearty, five minute laugh, and throws the whole thing out of court!!! He could sue and WIN, based onthe fact the CTA does NOT have quad gates. Therefore CTA was derelict in its duty to protect the public motorists and passenger safety. Heck if a woman can spill hot coffee on herself and win a lawsuit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 He could sue and WIN, based onthe fact the CTA does NOT have quad gates. Therefore CTA was derelict in its duty to protect the public motorists and passenger safety. Heck if a woman can spill hot coffee on herself and win a lawsuit... I said I wouldnt comment anymore on this, but I cant hold this in, I have to say that this idiot wont have a case! The first question he will be asked is "Why did you go around the downed crossing gates?" He jeopardized many lives including his own with his stupidity! Thank god this didnt happen during the weekday where the platform, sidewalk and crossing area wouldve been more crowded with commuters and passers by. My take on this, I hope CTA goes after the car driver!! Send the repair bill to him for all the damage to the platform, railcar and track. Theres a big difference between spilling hot coffee on yourself and deliberately causing a train with people on board to crash! This idiot wont have a case!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 He could sue and WIN, based onthe fact the CTA does NOT have quad gates. Therefore CTA was derelict in its duty to protect the public motorists and passenger safety. Heck if a woman can spill hot coffee on herself and win a lawsuit... No he wouldn't, because there is no legal requirement of having quad gates; most crossings don't have them, and they are considered unsafe because the gates could trap someone on the tracks. As the commenters in response to one dope on the Chicago Breaking News board pointed out, it is the driver's responsibility to stay off the tracks until it is clear to cross. CTA would be liable only if the gate did not work, or the operator was under an obligation to sound a horn, but did not. However, one has to remember that this is the scene of the infamous Lee case, where a drunk went to urinate on the tracks, and fried himself on the third rail. The court seemed to go out of its way to find that CTA had a duty to make the third rail less accessible, even though the normal law is that there is no duty owed to trespassers. So, I guess that anything can happen and probably will. However, I agree with 5750 on this one, even though he has a different perspective than mine. Update: Taking 5750 one step further, I wonder if the driver has sufficient liability service to fix all the damage ryanbytes pictured, although I suppose he could argue that it was not foreseeable that his car caused all that damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Speaking of damages, what comes to my mind along with the potential for so many to get hurt or killed had this been a regular weekday is the amount of money CTA invested in rebuilding this station and its platform under the multimillion dollar Brown Line capacity expansion project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Speaking of damages, what comes to my mind along with the potential for so many to get hurt or killed had this been a regular weekday is the amount of money CTA invested in rebuilding this station and its platform under the multimillion dollar Brown Line capacity expansion project. Except for when they found out that the bids were over budget, they decided to use wood instead of completely replacing the platform with concrete. In any event, should the CTA be able to collect anything from the driver, it would be the cost of restoration to its status before the accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Except for when they found out that the bids were over budget, they decided to use wood instead of completely replacing the platform with concrete. In any event, should the CTA be able to collect anything from the driver, it would be the cost of restoration to its status before the accident. Not good planning there. At any rate, should they be able to find him liable, would they be able to get him for damage to the rail car? I'm sure that's what other people go after when they sue CTA for liability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 ... At any rate, should they be able to find him liable, would they be able to get him for damage to the rail car? I'm sure that's what other people go after when they sue CTA for liability. Since it appears that the damage to the rail car was proximately caused by his negligence, yes. That would pile on the damages, given the amount of undercar damage indicated by ryanbytes's pictures. I don't know if I should be giving the CTA Law Dept. free advice, but they probably aren't looking here.:blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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