Crime & Safety

VIDEO: Train Derails, Collapses Bridge Near Glenview-Northbrook

A freight train carrying coal from Wyoming to a utility plant in Wisconsin derailed Wednesday, collapsing an overpass bridge near the Northbrook/Glenview border. According to officials, this is the second derailment at this location since 2009.

Update July 6 at 12:10 p.m.

in one direction along the Union Pacific rail line. 

Update July 6 at 11:30 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Glenviewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The victims of the collapsed bridge have been identified and their family is pressing charges, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Friends identified the victims as Burton Lindner, 69 and Zorine Lindner, 70 of the 100 block of Cornell Court in Glenview. According to the Tribune, the family is planning legal action and attorneys for them appeared in court this morning.

Find out what's happening in Glenviewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Update July 5 at 10:30 a.m. 

Yesterday afternoon, a witness arrived at the scene with a about a viaduct collapse and subsequent 22-car pileup at the same location. 

Update July 5 at 9:40 a.m. 

According to the Cook County Medical Examiner, the victims found in the car beneath the rubble were a man in his 60s and a woman, age unknown. Identities remain undisclosed. 

Examinations for both victims are scheduled later today. 

Update July 5 at 5:35 p.m. 

A second body was found in the car buried in the train derailment debris, the Chicago Tribune reports

Update: July 5 at 2:18 p.m.

Glenview Fire Chief Wayne Globerger announced that from the car crushed in the collapsed bridge debris. 

Update: July 5 at 1:15 p.m.

Glenview Fire Chief Wayne Globerger told WBBM News Radio that authorities now believe a car was crushed in the wreck, but it’s still unclear if there was a passenger in the vehicle at the time.

“We’ve located what we believe to be a car underneath the debris,” Globerger told WBBM. “We’re working with the railroad to try to dig our way into that vehicle to ascertain if there’s anybody in it.”

With the large amount of debris to clean up, checking for the car will be a slow moving process, Globerger said. According to WBBM, ambulances and other emergency equipment were available on the scene Thursday morning, just in case. 

To the right, watch footage caught on video by local witness Wilbur William. Stay tuned to Patch for more details as they become available.

Original Story

A bridge overpass near the Glenview-Northbrook border collapsed earlier today after a freight train derailed on the Union Pacific tracks near Willow and Shermer Roads, The Chicago Tribune reports.  

According to Union Pacific officials, the train had three locomotive engines and four of its 138 cars had derailed, though there were no reported injuries reported as of Wednesday afternoon. 

Northbrook's Village Board President Sandy Frum was at the scene after the derailment, surveying the damage and talking to police. 

"As far as we can tell no one was involved," she said. "It's horrible at any point to have a train derailment, we're lucky it was no worse than what it is."

Crews were sent to the area around 1:45 p.m., according to police, and witnesses said a small fire was also observed.

There was another derailment in November 2009 at the same location, officials said. 

Jashwant Patel, who owns a Subway near where the accident occurred, told the Sun-Times the bridge was repaired recently. It reopened in October 2011. 

“This bridge was closed for three months last year while it was fixed and they said it would last 100 years,” Patel told the Sun-Times. “It’s the 4th of July and it hasn’t even lasted a year.”

For commuters looking to avoid traffic, Willow has been blocked off by emergency personnel.

Above, watch footage caught on video by local witness Wilbur William. Stay tuned to Patch for more details as they become available.

For more on the story, including witness reactions, click here.

To stay up to date as this story unfolds, "like" either Northbrook Patch or Glenview Patch on Facebook.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.