Federal regulations require railway alert systems, such as gates and flashing lights, to activate at least 20 seconds before a train enters a crossing.
So why did warning devices deploy at the last moment as a pickup truck and a Union Pacific locomotive were on a collision course in Elgin?
Truck driver Martin Martinez Jimenez of Round Lake Beach died in the Oct. 23 crash and two passengers were injured.
“This should have been avoided based on the way it’s been reported, thus far,” said P.S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois Chicago.
“There are important questions here that need to be answered to make sure our crossings are safe,” added DePaul University transportation Professor Joseph Schwieterman.
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