Trucker cited in fatal crash at 'L' station

So this Friday I was at Loyola checking out the campus and I took the red line, because it connects directly to Loyola. As I was going home the train personal said that they were dealing with an emergency on Cermak and that the train wasn't going to go any farther than Grant. Well I got off at the next stop and had about a 3 mile hike to the 6 bus, but the point is they never tell you what these emergencies are....I guess because they don't want to scare you or cause a rush. So here's the article on what happened. I found this article from the Chicago Tribune Online. There is also a video for this so open up this link and watch it too.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-truck-cta-amatterapr28,0,7774964.story

Chicago Fire Department personnel try to remove a tractor-trailer which rammed into a Red Line elevated train stop in Chinatown on Cermak Road on Friday. (Tribune photo by Alex Garcia / April 25, 2008)

By Tina Shah and Jason Meisner |Tribune reporters

6:45 AM CDT, April 28, 2008

The driver whose semitrailer truck went out of control, plowed through Friday's rush-hour traffic and slammed into the escalator of the Cermak-Chinatown Red Line "L" station, killing two people, was issued a traffic citation late Sunday, but police said the investigation into the accident is continuing.

Don Wells, of Metamora, Mich., was given one citation for negligent driving and was later released from custody, Chicago Police Officer John Henry said. Police said and Wells' driver's license indicate he is 64.

Wells exited off the Dan Ryan Expressway at Cermak Road and for an unknown reason did not stop, hitting people waiting at a CTA bus stop and those on the escalator at the train station. Two women were killed, and at least 21 others were hospitalized.

Wells, a driver for Michigan-based Whiteline Express, had been in police custody since Friday, and investigators were reviewing CTA surveillance tapes. Investigators said they were not sure if Wells was licensed to drive in Illinois. There were no indications drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, police said Saturday.

Related links

• Truck driver cited for fatal CTA crash Video

• Calamity in Chinatown Photos

• Witnesses: 'The truck just came charging across'

• Design of Cermak-Chinatown Red Line station offered little protection from crashing truck

• Two killed, at least 21 injured after truck crashes into CTA Red Line station in Chinatown

• Police grapple for clues

• CTA service resuming at Chinatown 'L' station

• How the crash happened Graphic

Eloisa Guerrero, 47, and Delisia Brown, 18, did not know each other but were victims of the same fate Friday when the crash took their lives. Guerrero was waiting at the bus stop and Brown was on the escalator when the truck struck the station.

Henry said further charges are possible against Wells, but that he would be released from custody pending further investigation.

tshah@tribune.com

jmeisner@tribune.com

More articles

Subscribe to Chicag