The Chicago train operator, whose train derailed last month at O’Hare International Airport when she dozed off, has been sacked, officials say.
Thirty-two people were hurt when the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train jumped its tracks at O’Hare International Airport and hurtled up an escalator.
The woman, 25, worked as an operator for two months and reportedly admitted it was not the first time she had dozed off at work.
None of the injuries at the busy airport was said to be serious.
Thirty-two people were hurt when the Chicago Transit Authority train jumped its tracks at O’Hare International Airport and hurtled up an escalator (photo AP)
The CTA said that it did not believe the driver’s work schedule played a role in the March 24 crash,
But it said that changes to its train operator scheduling policies would be implemented as result of an internal review of the crash at O’Hare.
CTA officials were quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying that the driver had worked 55 hours in the seven days preceding the incident but was off work for 18 hours prior to the shift in question. Officials say that she also admitted to over-running a station in February.
CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that it could terminate the contract of an operator for two serious safety violations and that “an incident of this severity is sufficient for termination”.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that train was travelling at about 26 mph when it entered the station, a normal speed, and tripped an emergency braking system beside the track that failed to stop it before the impact.
NTSB investigator Ted Turpin said last month that the train operator had admitted that she had “dozed off” prior to entering the station.
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A commuter train has derailed at an underground station at Chicago O’Hare International Airport early Monday, injuring 32 people on board, officials said.
The eight-car Chicago commuter train plowed across a platform and scaled an escalator.
No one suffered life-threatening injuries in the Blue Line derailment at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said during a morning briefing.
An enormous disaster was avoided thanks to the timing of the crash at 02:50 a.m. The bustling station is usually packed with travelers making their way to or from Chicago from the major airport, and a Chicago Transit Authority official said the crash happened at a traditionally quiet time.
No one suffered life-threatening injuries in the Blue Line derailment at O’Hare International Airport (photo WGN TV News)
CTA investigators along with the city fire department and police were reviewing security footage and interviewing the driver and other CTA workers to pin down the cause of the accident around 2:50 a.m. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were expected to arrive later in the day.
“We will be looking at equipment. We will be looking at signals. We’ll be looking at the human factor and any extenuating circumstances,” CTA spokesman Brian Steele said.
“But really at this point, it’s far too soon to speculate.”
Transit agency officials said crews were working to remove the train and fix the escalator, which received “significant damage”. Hours after the crash, the front of the first car could still be seen near the top of the escalator.
Christopher Bushell, CTA’s chief infrastructure officer, said it would likely be at least 12 to 24 hours before the station would reopen. He said workers will cut the train apart and remove it in pieces on a flatbed.
The CTA was busing passengers to and from O’Hare to the next station on the line.
The train appeared to have been going too fast as it approached the end-of-line station and didn’t stop at a bumping post — a metal shock absorber at the end of the tracks.
The injured were taken to four hospitals and most were able to walk away from the wreck unaided.
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