A man was killed Wednesday morning after he was run over by a freight train near the Lake Villa Metra Station. Investigators believe the death was a suicide.
The Lake Villa Police Department and Lake Villa Fire Protection District responded around 11:10 a.m. Wednesday to the Lake Villa Metra Station, 129 Railroad Avenue, for a report of a pedestrian struck by a train.
Lake Villa Police Department Lt. James DeCaro said officers arrived and located an unidentified man who was deceased.
A preliminary investigation shows that the man “came to be upon” the railroad tracks just south of the train station.
DeCaro said the man ended up being struck and run over by a northbound Canadian National freight train.
Investigators believe the death may have been a suicide, based upon evidence discovered at the scene, but the investigation is still in the early stages.
The Canadian National Railway Police Department and Lake County Coroner’s Office were notified and are assisting in the investigation.
The railroad crossings on Cedar Avenue, Grand Avenue and Monaville Road were all closed due to the investigation.
DeCaro said the scene was cleared by around 2:30 p.m. and the railroad crossings on Grand Avenue along with Cedar Avenue have reopened to vehicle traffic.
It was unknown if the Monaville Road crossing in Round Lake Beach had reopened, DeCaro said.
Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said no Metra trains have been impacted due to the incident since none are scheduled to run on the North Central Service (NCS) line in Lake Villa until 5:56 p.m. Wednesday.