A man was hit by a southbound CTA Red Line subway train on the Near North Side this evening, forcing the closing of the southbound subway for three hours as fire officials responded.
A man in his 20s was found on the tracks near the Grand Avenue stop, unresponsive, about 6:32 p.m., said Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala. The man was dead on the scene, according to the Chicago Fire Department’s news office. His injuries were consistent with his having been struck by a train, said CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski, citing preliminary information.
The man was found on the tracks about 100 feet north of the Grand Avenue stop, she said.
Dozens of firefighters and police officers entered and exited the subway at Grand Avenue while crowds gathered behind orange biohazard tape. Grand and State Street were both blocked off around the station, with lines of emergency vehicles parked in each direction.
Emergency workers arrived under sunny skies, and stayed until darkness fell and storms moved through. Shortly after 9 p.m., fire personnel cleared the scene and police confirmed that the body had been removed.
Trains bound for the Ashland/63rd terminal rerouted onto the elevated tracks between Fullerton Avenue and the Roosevelt elevated stop Grand Avenue station, said Hosinski. Trains were resuming their normal routes about 9:30 p.m.
One man who said he was riding the train involved said that after the train stopped, a CTA official came through and told riders the train had hit someone, and that the train would be delayed 1 or 2 hours.
For Red Line service updates, check the CTA’s web site.
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