CTA Yellow Line Operator In Crash That Injured 38 Had More Than Twice Legal Alcohol Limit

CHICAGO — The operator of a Chicago Transit Authority train had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he crashed into a snow removal machine last year, injuring dozens of people and prompting several lawsuits, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.

The train operator has not been charged or cited in connection with the crash of a CTA Yellow Line heading from Skokie into the Howard rail yard in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood around 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 16.

Thirty-eight people were injured, three of them critically, with 23 of them taken to area hospitals.

The train's 47-year-old conductor, one of seven CTA employees hurt in the crash, wound up in the emergency room at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston. Hospital staff collected blood samples from him around 11:20 a.m. and around 11:36 a.m. that morning, according to the NTSB medical specialist's factual report.

While an initial, unconfirmed clinical test showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.06, later testing from the Federal Aviation Administration’s forensic science lab showed a BAC of 0.042 in the first sample and 0.048 in the second one — both well above the federal limit of 0.02.

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"Federal Transit Administration regulations state that each employer shall prohibit a covered employee, while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 g/dL or greater, from performing or continuing to perform a safety-sensitive function," according to Dr. Betsy Tuttle, the NTSB medical officer.

"Additionally, no employer shall permit a covered employee who has a confirmed alcohol concentration of 0.02 g/dL or greater but less than 0.04 g/dL to perform safety-sensitive functions until the employee's alcohol concentration measures less than 0.02 g/dL," Tuttle reported, "or the start of the employee's next regularly scheduled duty period, but not less than eight hours following administration of the test."

The NTSB’s preliminary report also noted that a design flaw in the train’s braking system contributed to the crash. Officials with the federal transportation safety agency said at the time of its preliminary investigative summary that it did not appear the operator was at fault.

Investigators found that the train’s braking distance was around 1,780 feet—roughly 1,000 feet shorter than newer systems.

The operator had engaged both a full-service brake and an emergency brake, but the train failed to stop in time before hitting the equipment at about 27 mph, according to the preliminary report.

In a statement, CTA officials reiterated that they are fully cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation.

"CTA has several measures in place to monitor employee compliance with its policy to promote a drug and alcohol free workplace," said.

CTA officials said the agency's drug and alcohol testing policy for safety-sensitive employees complies with all federal rules.

Such employees, including bus driver and train conductors, are tested when starting the job or returning to duty, and every month, between 350 and 450 of them are tested randomly, according to the statement.

The train operator involved in the crash, who had been licensed to drive trains for just three months at the time of the crash, had not previously been selected for random alcohol testing.

"Employees involved in accidents are subject to post-accident drug/alcohol testing," CTA officials said.

In a memo from the day of the crash, CTA Rail Operations Transportation Manager Jerome Pinnix told General Manager Paris Bradley that a security supervisor at St. Francis Hospital told him "that the Drug/Alcohol Testers will not be permitted to conduct a test" with the conductor, who "provided minimal details surrounding the incident, as Local 308 Union representation was requested."

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On-board cameras show the snow removal equipment was visible on the tracks for less than three seconds before the operator "made an abrupt facial expression" and reached for the track brake a second later, according to the NTSB video specialist's report.

"There were no distractions of the train operator observed right before the collision," NTSB specialist W. Deven Chen reported. "There were no warning signals in the vicinity of the accident site observed prior to the collision."

The medical report containing details about the operator's blood alcohol concentration was dated Aug. 7, but it was only recently released by the NTSB, which has yet to officially publish its final report detailing the causes of the crash and its recommendations for preventing future incidents.

The 60-year-old snowplow operator, who had prior negative random and alcohol tests going back to 2006, also tested negative for drugs and alcohol after the crash.

Four lawsuits have already been filed by passengers injured in the crash, all through Clifford Law Offices, alleging that the incident was preventable and that CTA officials were negligent by allowing the crash to occur.

Yellow Line service was suspended for months after the crash but resumed operations in January 2024 with some adjustments aimed to increase safety, including reducing the speed limit on the line from 55 mph to 35 mph and updating maintenance protocols.

Related:

• Yellow Line Service Resumes Nearly 2 Months After Crash
• Moments Before CTA Yellow Line Crash Detailed In Federal Report
• CTA Yellow Line Crash Probed By NTSB Investigators
• Nearly 40 Injured In Train Crash, Derailment At Howard Street Station