CHICAGO TRAINS HEAD-ON CRASH INJURES DOZENS

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter | Sep 30, 2013 01:30 PM EDT

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Two Chicago commuter trains had a head-on crash Monday, injuring dozens of people, who were rushed to 10 area hospitals right away.

The collision between the two Chicago trains happened at around 8 a.m. at a Blue station in Forest Park, said mayor of Forest Park (a suburb of Chicago) Anthony Calderone.

Authorities said, at least 48 people were sent to hospitals nearby, adding that the injuries were described as minor. A spokeswoman from Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood said, the injuries were mainly "back, head lacerations and various aches and pains."

CNN affiliate WLS reported that the two Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line trains were apparently on the same track although they were bound to opposite directions.

Despite the collision, train service continued, but not stops at Harlem were made, since it was near the site of the crash. However, authorities said shuttle buses were made available in the said area to assist commuters due to the lapse in service.

Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Lambrini Lukidis said an outbound train at the Harlem station was struck by another train that was heading the opposite direction on the same track.

The operators of the trains were not yet identified, but several speculated that one of the train's must have been hijacked, according to CBS Chicago.

Calderone said that nobody was at the controls of the out-of-service train that struck the Harlem outbound one.

Robert Kelly of Amalgamated Transit Union 308 said the train was traveling at 20 to 25 miles per hour prior to the head-on collision.

Taylor Pettiford, a witness to the Chicago trains crash, told Chicago Tribune that she heard a lot of people screaming prior to the accident.

"Stop! Stop! Stop the train!" Pettiford heard people yelling. "Slow down!"

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