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CTA passengers escorted to safety after tree lands on tracks
A tree crashed onto the Yellow Line tracks on Thursday night and dozens of CTA passengers had to be helped off the elevated train.
EVANSTON, Ill. - CTA Yellow Line passengers in Evanston were forced to evacuate a train late Thursday after a storm knocked a tree onto the tracks, causing the train to derail.
CTA Yellow Line incident
What we know:
The incident happened around 11 p.m. in Evanston as severe weather moved through the Chicago area, according to officials and passengers on board.
A total of 31 passengers were evacuated from the train after it came to a stop on an elevated section of track. Emergency crews helped riders off the train and down a nearby embankment using ropes for support.
What they're saying:
"I was wearing my AirPods when it happened, the train, it just hit like 'do-do-do-do-do'. All of a sudden train stops, half the lights go out," one passenger recalled. "I'm like, 'Oh, something happened, didn't it?'"
Another rider described the challenges crews faced while trying to get passengers to safety.
"They tried to chainsaw actually a pathway so we could all walk down because there's no way out," the passenger said. "We're literally on top of — it's elevated up there — so there's really no way to get down unless they all help us down."
Passengers said they remained on the train for about an hour before crews were able to begin the evacuation.
Despite the derailment and difficult conditions, no injuries were reported.
The Source: The information in this report came from riders who were on board a CTA Yellow Line train when it derailed Thursday night.