A 31-year-old Chicago man was killed Wednesday morning when he was struck by a Metra passenger train as he attempted to cross the tracks in North Chicago, authorities said.
Quentin Williams of the 2100 block of East 79th Street was walking northeast of the Great Lakes station toward the platform at Buckley Road when he heard a train approaching from behind, said North Chicago Police Sgt. Charles Holderbaum.
Witnesses told police that Williams turned to see the southbound train coming around the bend and attempted to cross the tracks to catch it, Holderbaum said.
Williams apparently believed the train, Metra’s Union Pacific North line No. 306, was on the west track when it actually was on the east track, Holderbaum said.
He entered the east track and began running south between the rails toward the station, Holderbaum said. The train, which was not scheduled to stop at Great Lakes, struck Williams just north of the station about 6:30 a.m., he said.
“The engineer said [the victim] never even turned around,” Holderbaum said.
Williams, who was being treated at the VA Medical Center, was pronounced dead at the scene., said Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Jim Wipper.
The incident delayed travel for up to an hour on the Kenosha-to-Chicago line for about 6,000 passengers, said Metra spokeswoman Audrey Renteria.
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