The Chainlink

Bike-train crash. 7-31-2014. Des Plaines 6 pm. Victim identified.

Amy Carolyn Thier 45, of Des Plaines : Rest in peace.
Daily Herald report for: 8/2/2014
A bicyclist was killed on Thursday night after being hit by a Metra train near the Cumberland stop in Des Plaines before 6 pm. The female cyclist was identified as Amy Carolyn Thier by Des Plaines police. According to witnesses, she was riding her bike across the tracks when the collision occurred.
Amy Thier's life revolved around her love of friends and a deep compassion for dogs in need of help, her husband, Leo, said Friday. The 45-year-old founder of Splash Dog Inc. , a canine hydro therapy and wellness center, was riding her bicycle home to play with her own dogs during her hour long break Thursday evening when she was accidentally struck and killed by an express Metra train near the Cumberland depot on Northwest Highway. Des Plaines police and paramedics received the call of a bicyclist struck by a train near Cumberland about 6 pm Thursday. Amy was pronounced dead at the scene and her death was ruled accidental on Friday by the Cook County medical examiner. Safety devices including lights, bells and gates were found to be functioning normally. No further information was available. The accident remains under investigation by Metra and Des Plaines police.

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How?

Is it disrespectful to ask how?

What Jeff said.

This is a tragedy without a doubt.

It would be a greater tragedy if the same thing happens to someone else who had a missed opportunity to learn from the first.

And to be blunt, if I end my life as a locomotive hood ornament and none of you asks WTF?, I'll come back from the dead and let air out of your tires, mix water in your chain lube and haunt your dreams until you wet your bed.

I don't know the victim of this accident, I don't know any of the details of what happened, but I do know that Metra trains don't pop up from behind bushes. Sadly, rider error was likely involved, and we lost a member of our extended community. I choose to show my respect by being more careful tomorrow morning when I cross the UP-NW tracks around 6:45. And if I learn anything about the cause of the accident, I'll modify my behaviour as appropriate.

Here's the story in the Chicago Sun-Times.  I've never liked the Cumberland Metra stop.  Getting across the Northwest Highway, especially during the winter, is rather a game of fucking "Frogger" for those running to catch a departing train.  This area of Des Plaines can be tough to navigate for cyclists because of high speed traffic and no bike lanes. 

There's really not an "easy" to navigate part of DP except for in the neighborhoods on the indirect bike paths. 

Matt M. 18.5KM said:

Here's the story in the Chicago Sun-Times.  I've never liked the Cumberland Metra stop.  Getting across the Northwest Highway, especially during the winter, is rather a game of fucking "Frogger" for those running to catch a departing train.  This area of Des Plaines can be tough to navigate for cyclists because of high speed traffic and no bike lanes. 

Those who remember Trish Quane would caution to not be so quick to assume error on the part of the victim.
 
Jonathan Quist said:

What Jeff said.

This is a tragedy without a doubt.

It would be a greater tragedy if the same thing happens to someone else who had a missed opportunity to learn from the first.

And to be blunt, if I end my life as a locomotive hood ornament and none of you asks WTF?, I'll come back from the dead and let air out of your tires, mix water in your chain lube and haunt your dreams until you wet your bed.

I don't know the victim of this accident, I don't know any of the details of what happened, but I do know that Metra trains don't pop up from behind bushes. Sadly, rider error was likely involved, and we lost a member of our extended community. I choose to show my respect by being more careful tomorrow morning when I cross the UP-NW tracks around 6:45. And if I learn anything about the cause of the accident, I'll modify my behaviour as appropriate.

For those not familiar with that section of the UP-NW, that area is triple track. There has been more than one crash in triple track areas (UP-NW, BNSF, etc.) where someone walked around the back end of a stopped train on the near track and got hit by an express running on the center track, which they did not see because their view was blocked by the stopped train.  

Howard brings up a good point about Trish Quane's unfortunate death.  Sometimes the victim dies due to incorrect information or being waved across by another person.   The general public often gets only a portion of the facts about the circumstances of any crash.

h' 1.0 said:

Those who remember Trish Quane would caution to not be so quick to assume error on the part of the victim.

I agree I think it would be good to know the details to learn from this tragic situation, especially in light of Anne's and Matt's comment above. 

May she rest in peace and condolences to the family. Just awful. 

Quite. :-(

Julie Hochstadter said:

I agree I think it would be good to know the details to learn from this tragic situation, especially in light of Anne's and Matt's comment above. 

May she rest in peace and condolences to the family. Just awful. 

She rode around the gates, with the bells ringing, and lights flashing. I know this for a fact.  As harsh as it may sound, since she ignored the safety flashers, the bells, and the gates, and rode past them, there is no assumption she was in error.  She WAS!  The "Victim" was the poor guy who had to watch her do it, The engineer.

The lesson in this is simple. STOP! When the gates come down, Just F'in STOP! Your life, Your job, Your workout, whatever you are in such a hurry over, is NOT worth losing your life. Do NOT trust someone waving, Do NOT think you can just sneak around because the train is just sitting there.  Just STOP!!! WAIT for the train to leave, the gates to go back up, and the flashers to stop.  Your life could depend on it.

I feel horrible for the people that she left behind, I am sure her family misses her, and everyone mourns her departure.  PLEASE people.  Learn from this. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!  Stop, wait.  I beg you. 

h' 1.0 said:

Those who remember Trish Quane would caution to not be so quick to assume error on the part of the victim.
 
Jonathan Quist said:

What Jeff said.

This is a tragedy without a doubt.

It would be a greater tragedy if the same thing happens to someone else who had a missed opportunity to learn from the first.

And to be blunt, if I end my life as a locomotive hood ornament and none of you asks WTF?, I'll come back from the dead and let air out of your tires, mix water in your chain lube and haunt your dreams until you wet your bed.

I don't know the victim of this accident, I don't know any of the details of what happened, but I do know that Metra trains don't pop up from behind bushes. Sadly, rider error was likely involved, and we lost a member of our extended community. I choose to show my respect by being more careful tomorrow morning when I cross the UP-NW tracks around 6:45. And if I learn anything about the cause of the accident, I'll modify my behaviour as appropriate.

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