Witnesses: No gates, lights at train crossing where woman died
Witnesses to a crash that killed a Naperville dance teacher Friday say
there was no warning that a train was coming until it was too late.
Both the motorists directly in front of and behind 26-year-old Katie Lunn
said the gates and lights at the crossing were not working at the time of the
crash that killed her.
There were "no lights, no gates, no anything," said Lauren Brown
of Skokie, a Cook County prosecutor. "There was no way for us to know
there was a train coming, and at the point the conductor blew his horn when I
was on the tracks it was too late for anyone to change course."
Brown was driving immediately ahead of Lunn, a Chicago resident and dance
teacher and manager at the School of Performing Arts in Naperville. She was
leaving a dance performance at Governors State University about 9:40 p.m.
Friday when her SUV was struck by a northbound Amtrak train at the Stuenkel
Road crossing in University Park, a southwest suburb of Chicago.
Brown said there are two sets of tracks at the crossing and a gate never
went down until after the crash, when the second to last train car was passing
through the intersection. The gate lowered, she said, then immediately popped
back up.
Anna Fattore of Naperville was driving behind Lunn at the time of the
crash. She saw the train narrowly miss Brown, then in a matter of seconds,
strike the dance teacher's car, pushing it forward. There was an explosion, she
said, and the gas tank flew into the air.
"It was very surreal," she said. "It was like watching a
nightmare unfold in front of you."
She, too, said the train came without warning, other than the horn she
heard within seconds of the crash.
A third witness, Lisa Smith of Naperville, was two cars ahead of Lunn's on
Friday and also did not see any gates or lights alert drivers of an oncoming
train. Her son spotted the train first and she thought he was mistaken until
she looked left and saw the headlight coming at them as she drove over the
tracks.
Smith has driven through the intersection in the past and said visibility
is poor.
"There is a line of trees, no streetlights and two huge utility
boxes," she said.
Smith also reported seeing workers on the tracks earlier in the day Friday.
Patrick Waldron, spokesman for Canadian National Railway Co., confirmed
railroad workers were at the crossing on Friday afternoon but would not
elaborate on the work they were doing, or whether the gates and signals
malfunctioned at the time of the crash.
"The incident is a terrible tragedy and our condolences go out to the
family and friends of the young woman," Waldron said. "CN is
dedicated to a full investigation of this accident to determine exactly what
happened and why. At this point the circumstances of the incident including the
grade crossing signal system are part of that ongoing investigation."
Trains are continuing to go through the intersection. Waldron said Canadian
National will "continue to do everything in our ability to make sure the
crossing is safe for the public."
According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics, there have been
five train versus auto crashes at the Stuenkel Road crossing since 1991, not
including Friday's crash. The five accidents resulted in four injuries and no
fatalities.
Two of the crashes were reported by Amtrak and three were reported by
Illinois Central Railroad, which was also responsible for track maintenance.
The crashes occurred before Canadian National merged with Illinois Central.
Reached at her Iowa home on Sunday, Lunn's mother, Julie, said the issue of
gates and signals is "something we'll have to deal with later."
The family is still grieving the loss of a daughter she called the
"joy of our life" and someone always willing to lend a hand.
"She was one of those people who always gave 110 percent to whatever
she did," Julie Lunn said. "She loved life, she loved her family, she
loved her friends. She had this infectious smile that never went away."
She talked to her daughter nightly and had just seen her over Easter when
they had "the best week ever" going dress shopping for Katie's sister
Jessica's wedding.
Lunn was a gymnast growing up. She didn't start dancing until senior year
of high school but fell in love with it, her mother said.
She graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in dance
management and danced for the American Spirit Dance Co. and Oklahoma City
University Pep Dancers. She also danced professionally and did choreography
work for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Arena Football Dance Team.
She started working in Naperville about four or five years ago.
"She always told me 'Mom, I'm living my dream, I'm living what I want
to do,'" Julie Lunn said.
Fattore, whose daughter took lessons from Lunn, said she was "one of a
kind" and a "positive influence."
"She was so excited to teach these kids and she loved them,"
Fattore said. "She was bright and uplifting and had a great sense of
spirit and she loved what she did."
By Sunday afternoon a Facebook page dedicated to Lunn had more than 800
members mourning the loss of their friend and teacher.
Close friend Shelley Mitchell said she was dedicating a Sunday afternoon
performance to Lunn.
"She was the most positive and caring person I have ever met," Mitchell
said via e-mail. "The only comfort is that we all know she is in heaven
watching down on us."
Visitation for Lunn will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 23, at
Corpus Christi Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa. A funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, April 24, at the church. Julie Lunn said she would like to have a
memorial in the Chicago area as well but plans have not been finalized.