The medical examiner has released the identity of a 21-year-old man who died after being struck by a Metra train on the NCS line near Lake Cook Road between Buffalo Grove and Wheeling.
The Wheeling Police Department and Wheeling Fire Department responded around 7 a.m. Monday to the 400 block of Diens Drive for a report of a pedestrian struck by a train.
Police said the incident happened on the Canadian National Railroad tracks just south of Lake Cook Road.
Officers and paramedics arrived and found a pedestrian who was deceased at the scene.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Henry Louis St. John, 21, of Durham, Connecticut.
St. John had been struck by Metra train #102, which was operating on the North Central Service (NCS) line.
It occurred halfway between the Buffalo Grove and Wheeling Metra stations.
The Wheeling Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident in coordination with the Metra Police Department and Canadian National Railroad personnel.
Train traffic on the Canadian National Railroad was temporarily suspended in both directions so first responders and investigators could safely conduct their operations, police said.
Motorists and pedestrians were encouraged to avoid the area and utilize alternate routes until the scene was cleared and rail service resumed. “This will impact travel times for commuters.”
The Wheeling Police Department said its initial investigation at the scene concluded around 12 p.m. and the incident remains under investigation by the Metra Police Department.
St. John had been trespassing on the tracks and was not in a designated pedestrian or vehicular crossing zone, Metra said.
Train service on the Canadian National Railroad resumed around 8:45 a.m. Monday.
The medical examiner’s office has not made a final ruling on St. John’s cause and manner of death.