Officials say a woman has been cited after she drove her car around the gates, causing railroad maintenance equipment to strike her car on the train tracks, leaving her seriously injured, in Crystal Lake.
The Crystal Lake Police Department, Metra Police Department and Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday to the area of Sands Road and Smitana Road in Crystal Lake for a report of a crash involving a train.
Emergency crews arrived and found that the crash involved a car and a piece of railroad equipment, according to Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis.
A 2012 Volkswagen Beetle appeared to have been traveling northbound on Sands Road when it attempted to cross the railroad tracks.
The Volkswagen was struck in a T-bone style collision by a ballast regulator that was being operated westbound along the train tracks.
A ballast regulator is a piece of railway maintenance equipment that is used to align and distribute stone or gravel, which supports railway ties, along the tracks.
Gillis said the machine belongs to Union Pacific Railroad, which was in the area performing a track tie replacement project along with other machinery.
The driver of the Volkswagen, an adult female, was transported by ambulance to the helipad at Mercyhealth Hospital in Crystal Lake.
A LifeNet medical helicopter responded and landed at the hospital’s helipad.
Gillis said the victim was transferred to the helicopter and flown to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, which is a Level 1 trauma center.
The extent of the woman’s injuries was unknown but officers at the scene reported she suffered a head injury.
Sands Road was shut down from Route 14 to Smitana Road for several hours during the police investigation.
The roadway was reopened around 1 p.m., according to the Crystal Lake Police Department. Train traffic on the Union Pacific Northwest line also resumed.
Gillis said in an update on Wednesday that officers spoke with multiple witnesses and determined the driver went around the gates that were down.
The driver was charged with disregarding a signal on an approaching train.