The Metra Board of Directors last month approved two settlements worth a combined $43 million for victims of a 2020 collision involving a Metra train, a car and a teenage pedestrian, who died as a result of the crash.
The collision took place in February that year at a crossing at 87th Street and Pulaski Road when, according to court records, a Metra train struck a car, which then struck a pedestrian.
The 19-year-old pedestrian died. The three occupants of the car suffered “serious, catastrophic and lasting” injuries, according to court records.
The 2020 collision — and subsequent multimillion-dollar payout — follow a 2015 crash at the same intersection that resulted in the deaths of two people and the injuries of four others. In 2022, Metra agreed to a $12.25 million settlement in that case.
In 2017, the Illinois Commerce Commission, which has oversight authority over the state’s public rail crossings, conducted a review of the crossing and recommended changes there.
Metra didn’t reconfigure the intersection until August of 2020, six months after the second fatal collision and almost five years after the first crash.
Attorney Ben Crane represented the plaintiffs in the 2015 case and also represented the pedestrian’s estate in the wrongful death lawsuit.
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“They did jack squat for three years,” Crane said, referring to the gap of time between the 2017 ICC review and the intersection revamp.
The new settlements come after years of winding litigation in Cook County Circuit Court. In court filings, attorneys alleged the 2020 victims’ car had stopped just past the railroad crossing gate but outside of the intersection and that such incidents were common because of the “confusing design” of the intersection, allegations Metra denied in court filings.
In 2017, the ICC had recommended the railroad gates be moved “to reduce the likelihood of motorists stopping past the gates.”
In February 2020, just after the second fatal collision, Metra said it was in the process of planning design changes at the intersection, including moving the safety gates closer to the rail tracks and changing their angle.
Metra did not admit fault as part of the settlement agreements, Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis said. Insurance will pay for a portion of the settlements, Gillis said, though he would not specify how much.
Gillis also declined to respond to criticism that Metra had not addressed safety issues at the rail crossing quickly enough in the years between the two crashes. Metra followed the ICC’s recommendations for changes at the intersection, he said.
Brian LaCien, an attorney for the occupants of the car in the 2020 crash, said his firm was “happy to help our clients move forward with their lives.”