July 15, 2009
By STEVE LORD slord@scn1.com
For
Somonauk resident Michelle Skibitsky, accidents like Monday's fatal car-train
crash are all too common.
"We
definitely get a lot," said Skibitsky, a waitress at the Country Kitchen
in downtown Somonauk, which draws a lot of people from the Somonauk and Leland
area. "It's no longer, 'Oh, there was a train accident.' It's 'Oh, there
was another train accident.'"
The latest
train accident occurred about 3 p.m. Monday at a crossing on East 23rd Road
just north of Route 34, about a mile west of Somonauk.
Benjamin
Rasmusen, 82, and his wife, Marilyn Rasmusen, 81, as well as one of their
grandchildren, Elizabeth Rasmusen, 9, of Indiana, were killed when their car
crossed the tracks traveling south on East 23rd Road and was hit by the lead
engine of the Amtrak California Zephyr, which was traveling west out of
Chicago.
Two other of
the Rasmusens' grandchildren, Amelia Rasmusen, 10, and Benjamin Rasmusen, 7,
also of Indiana, were injured in the accident.
They were
taken to the trauma center at Rockford Memorial Hospital, where they were
listed as stable Tuesday evening.
According to
LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton, evidence at the scene indicates the car
did not stop as it entered the rail crossing. The sheriff's office said Tuesday
afternoon the accident investigation is continuing.
East 23rd
Road is a frequently used crossing, although because it is in a rural area, it
has no gate, no lights and no warning bells.
Skibitsky
said she has friend whose mother died at the same crossing. She said that as a
runner, she always takes off her headphones and looks carefully both ways when
she crosses the tracks on foot. She also said nearby residents are used to the
horns and the bells on the trains which sound as they approach the crossing.
"In the
middle of the night, we even hear them," she said. "It's very
intense, and it makes you mad sometimes, but this shows why they do it."
Marc
Magliari, Amtrak spokesman from the Chicago office, said those horns and bells
were working on the Zephyr.
"This is
a very tragic incident for the friends and family of those who were in the car,
and for our train crew, who are unable to prevent these types of crashes,"
Magliari said.
For Sandra
Wendel of Waterloo, Neb., the accident seemed like hail in a tornado. Wendel
was a passenger on the Zephyr, and her first indication that something had
happened was a noise, followed by the sound of debris hitting the sides of the
train cars.
"Pieces
started pelting the cars, like hail," she said Tuesday. "It looked
like a tornado, with stuff swirling by."
The tragic
situation was made even stranger for Wendel because she had been on the same
California Zephyr last week as it traveled to Chicago from the west, and hit a
car on the tracks in downtown Sandwich. In that case, the crossing had gates
and lights, and the driver and passenger in the car were able to get out before
the collision.
"On
Monday, we were slowing down coming through Sandwich, and I remember commenting
to my husband that this is where the accident was," she said. "Then
it happened again."