Cellphone video from commuter that was on the train platform near Metra 609 that struck a vehicle on southbound River Road.
Timothy F. Jones, 51, of Hawthorn Woods is identified as the male driver of a crash with a train that caused his fatal injuries about 8:08 a.m. Wednesday. Alcohol is not suspect in the investigation, but witnesses have reported that he appeared to try to drive around the train gates.
Des Plaines police and firefighter/paramedics responded to a report of a crash at the train crossing near Des Plaines River Road and Miner Street to find an overturned car fully-involved in flames. Tim Jones was killed when his car crashed into a train at southbound River Road near Miner Street in downtown Des Plaines. The car flipped over upon impact and burst into flames. The train required its full-length distance — and then some — to come to a complete stop. The train involved in the crash was outbound Train 609, which is scheduled weekdays in the Des Plaines’s downtown station at 8:04 a.m.
Metra trains and freight trains were halted in both directions for two hours.