Woman seen crawling under Metra train in Chicago suburb, Hinsdale police release video to share awareness for rail safety week
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HISNDALE, Ill. (WLS) — Hinsdale police released video of a commuter crawling under a stopped train to make it on board.

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Police said it happened at the Garfield Crossing in the downtown area on Monday at about 8:20 a.m.

The video shows a woman dangerously crawling under a stopped train, police said.

The presumption is she was racing to get onto the inbound Chicago train on the other side of the tracks.

“We do on occasion see people go underneath trains. Sometimes with stopped freights they’ll climb over the ladders between cars,” Hisndale police Sgt. Thomas Krefft said.

There is a national push this week to raise awareness about rail safety in Illinois.

Dr. Lanny Wilson, lost his 14-year-old daugher Lauren in 1994, when the car she was a passenger in collided with a train in Hinsdale after going through a downed gate.

He’s since made it his life’s work to promote rail safety. He is also the chairman for the DuPage Railroad Safety Council.

“At railroad crossings we’re doing much better. Today there’s only about a third of the deaths at crossings than there were the day she died,” Wilson said.

Some of the improvements include better engineering, like four quadrant gates, education and enforcement.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

The biggest challenge now, is trying to reduce the number of people determined to use moving trains as a way to take their own lives.

Increased access to mental health resources is a key component of that, but there are other things that municipalities and rail safety experts are focusing on.

As for that woman in the video, police do not know who she is.

Police now reminding the public that anyone caught crossing the tracks faces a mandatory court date and a minimum $250 fine.

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