WILMETTE – An 82-year-old Wilmette woman was struck and killed by an inbound Metra commuter express train near Central Street at about 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, July 26.
A preliminary investigation by the Wilmette Police Department indicates the pedestrian was walking west to east along the north sidewalk of Central Avenue, and that all train gates were deployed and functioning properly, according to a police news release. The police stated that the pedestrian walked around the train gates and continued eastbound, attempting to make it across the tracks. The pedestrian was struck along the east tracks by a southbound express Metra Commuter Train and did not survive the collision. The pedestrian was an 82-year-old female resident of Wilmette.
The Wilmette Police Department is working with Metra and Union Pacific Officials on the investigation.
Railroad traffic was halted both inbound and outbound, according to Metra media relations specialist Tom Miller. Rail traffic began operating again with extensive delays mid-morning.
Train riders are advised to listen to platform announcements for the location of their trains or refer to the “Track Your Train” feature on Metra’s website for current delay information.
Metra No. 320 was an express train that left Kenosha, Wisconsin, at 6:23 a.m. and was not scheduled to stop at the Wilmette train station. Its final destination was the Ogilvy Transportation Center in Chicago.
DailyNorthShore will update this story as information becomes available.
