Fox Grove Train Crash

Fox Grove Train Crash

The 1995 Fox Grove Train Crash was a grade crossing collision that killed seven students riding aboard a school bus in Fox River Grove, Illinois, on the morning of October 25, 1995. The school bus, driven by a substitute driver, was stopped at a traffic light with the rearmost portion extending onto a portion of the railroad tracks when it was struck by a Metra Union Pacific / Northwest Line train route to Chicago.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that, while the bus driver was not aware that a portion of the bus was on the tracks as she should have been, the timing of signals was so insufficient that, even if she had identified the hazard as the train approached, she would have had to proceed against a red traffic signal into the highway intersection to have moved out of the train's path.

Legislation and re-engineering of interconnected crossings across the state of Illinois combined with greater awareness elsewhere resulted in efforts to help to prevent similar crashes from recurring. Informational decals were also added to Illinois school buses advising drivers of the length of each bus, since the substitute school bus driver was apparently unaware of the exact length of the bus she was driving. Other states have also embraced that and related aspects and incorporated them into their school bus driver training curriculum.

The Fox River Grove crash stands as the worst crash involving a Metra train in its history, and one of the worst grade crossing crashes in U.S. history. At the crash site, the improved signaling system installed after the crash now protects the passing trains and motor vehicle traffic. Nearby is a small memorial to the seven high school students killed in the crash.

Accident

On October 25, 1995, at 7:10 am, Metra train number 624 collided with the back of a school bus carrying students to Cary-Grove High School. The collision occurred at the intersection of Algonquin Road, U.S. Route 14, and a double-tracked mainline belonging to the Union Pacific Railroad. At the time of the accident, the Metra train was traveling at approximately 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).

The impact separated the body from the chassis of the bus and catapulted the wreckage into the intersection. Five students were killed during the collision and two later died from their injuries. Another 24 bus passengers were injured, some critically, and 4 passengers were not injured. Most victims suffered blunt trauma and head injuries. The most seriously injured suffered skull fractures, lacerations and internal injuries. None of the 3-train crew or approximately 120 train passengers were injured.

A total of 7 people died in the accident.

Aftermath

Investigation

The initial cause of the crash was the failure of the bus driver to properly judge the distance between the railroad tracks when the vehicle stopped at a traffic signal across the tracks. The failure of judgment meant that around 3 inches (76 mm) of the back end of the bus protruded over the nearest rail. The body of the Metra train protruded 3 feet (1 m) past the rail. All of the injuries were sustained during this initial impact.

Bus position after the train had collided with it

The crossing was of inherently dangerous design, in that a long vehicle could be partially trapped on the crossing while held by a red light at the intersection. If the driver had realized the danger, she would still have been forced to pull through a red light to clear the track when the warning bells sounded.

Children began joking that the driver Patricia Catencamp was oblivious to the fact that a crossing gate lowered on the bus, then began screaming for her to move forward. She did not understand their message and diverted her attention away from the traffic signal. NTSB concluded the traffic signal did turn green 6 seconds before impact, but Catencamp was distracted trying to attend to what she presumed was some crisis within the bus.

Crossing Designs

Michael Lucas (left) and his brother Brian Marino (right) survived the accident and now working as firefighters for Crystal Lake

The type of crossing where the crash occurred is known as an interconnected crossing because of the need to link the railroad signals to the road signals to ensure safe passage. On this particular route, bus drivers on Algonquin Road had been known to cross the tracks to stop at the line at Northwest Highway, leaving them vulnerable to passing trains if they happened to still be stopped when the gates lowered. In addition, vehicle sensors were only present on the north side of the railroad tracks. Buses, trucks and other large vehicles were forced to pull through the railroad crossing in order to activate the signals at the intersection.

Memorial

A large granite memorial and two plaques were placed near the site of the crash in memory of the seven students killed in the crash.

The library under construction in Fox River Grove was named the Fox River Grove Memorial Library in memory of the accident victims. A memorial plaza was constructed on library grounds, and was dedicated in October 2000.

Memorial dedicated to the people that died during the accident

A memorial was installed at Cary-Grove High School, the destination of the bus. The memorial, called The Circle of Friends, features thirty-six stones to represent the passengers and driver of the bus and seven blue spruce trees to commemorate those who died.