Train Strikes Car Stuck On Tracks In Steger: Update

STEGER, IL — A Union Pacific train hit a car stuck on the tracks at 34th Street near Bambino's restaurant in Steger Thursday night. No injuries were reported.

According to Gerald Ruff, Steger police chief deputy, the accident happened at about 9 p.m. He said that a man, who did not live in the area, attempted to make a sharp right turn into a private driveway next to Diamond Dry Cleaners, but he turned onto the tracks instead. At least one of the tires blew out and the car could not be driven, leaving the car stuck on the tracks facing south, Ruff said. The man heard the train horn, got scared, and ran off the tracks to safety.

The train was not yet going full speed but still could not stop in time, Ruff added. It hit the car. Neither the man, who has not been named, nor anyone on the train, was injured.

"He turned and was trying to make the driveway, but he missed. There was nothing criminal going on," Ruff said.

When officers arrived at the scene, they saw that the train was stopped on the tracks and a car with extensive damage to it was sitting next to it on the east side of the tracks. Officers pieced together the story from interviews with the man and eyewitness accounts.

The man was not intoxicated, Ruff said. No charges have been filed.