Chicago rail crash driver ‘dozed off’
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said the driver of a Chicago commuter train that crashed at O’Hare International Airport admitted to ‘dozing off’ moments before the accident.
It also revealed that this was the driver’s second such incident in as many months.
The NTSB said the female train operator nodded off previously on February 1 and overshot a station.
Chief investigator Ted Turpin said the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) were aware of the first incident and the driver was reprimanded by a supervisor.
He also added that she had only been operating trains for two months.
The CTA confirmed the operator, who has not been named, is on ‘injured duty status’ and that disciplinary measures relating to the latest incident could result in dismissal as a second safety violation.
NTSB are looking into the operator’s erratic schedule to see if fatigue was a contributory cause of the crash.
It said the employee worked as a ‘fill-in’ covering a variety of different shifts where needed.
The crash caused an estimated $6 million in damage and injured 30 passengers, none thought to be seriously.
The crash site is still closed and Blue Line services have been replaced by a bus shuttle from Rosemont to O’Hare.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025