CHICAGO — Nearly 40 people were injured in a crash Thursday afternoon involving a commuter train in Chicago.
Chicago Fire Department’s Assistant Deputy Chief Paramedic Keith Gray said that 23 people were taken to the hospital, according to The New York Times. Their conditions ranged from serious to fair.
Gray said that 15 others were injured but refused to be taken to the hospital, according to the Times. Seven of the injured people are employees of the Chicago Transit Authority.
Four children were injured, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. They sustained “bumps and bruises.” None of their injuries were life-threatening.
Gray said that the train’s operator was seriously injured, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The Chicago Fire Department said the crash happened when the Chicago Transit Authority train crashed into snow-removal equipment just before 10:30 a.m. near the Howard CTA Station, The Associated Press reported.
The Chicago Fire Department’s second district chief Robert Jurewicz said that the Yellow Line train had 31 people on board and seven workers that was heading southbound from Skokie when it crashed into slower-moving rail equipment, according to the AP.
Officials say the cause of the crash remains under investigation. According to the AP, the commuter service’s website said that CTA’s Red, Purple, and Yellow lines were suspended temporarily because of the crash.
