TRAIN DERAILMENT IN ROCKFORD KILLS ONE, INJURES THREE
A train derailment in Rockford Friday night left at least one woman dead and three others with serious burns. The 114-car Canadian National Railway train derailed around 8:30 p.m. Canadian National Railway Company officials say 18 cars loaded with ethanol left the tracks, exploding into flames.
The cause of the accident is still unclear. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials say that identifying a cause of the derailment could take a year. The NTSB has conducted initial interviews with the train's crew and investigators are looking for witnesses.
It is unclear at this point what role, if any, the water levels may have played in the accident. Parts of northern Illinois had record rainfall on Friday, with some areas getting as much as 4 inches. There was high water along the northern Illinois rail line. Investigators are also trying to determine if automobiles played any role in the derailment.
Three motorists, including a 17 year old girl, who were stopped at a train crossing suffered serious burns. Another woman abandoned her car at a rail crossing and made it 20 feet before she fell and died. The cause of the woman's death has not yet been determined.
The derailment and subsequent fire caused the evacuation of nearly 600 nearby homes. The train cars continued to burn on Saturday, keeping investigators at bay. Sunday was the first full day federal investigators spent at the accident site and it appears that they will spend many more days there in an effort to determine what caused this tragic and costly accident.
