Aug. 26--Officials believe a 54-year-old woman was killed in Mount Prospect on Tuesday night after she walked around railroad gates and was struck by a Metra train.
The woman, Doris Zell of Mount Prospect, was pronounced dead after being struck by the train at the station at Emerson Street and Northwest Highway at about 6:30 p.m., according to Mount Prospect police.
According to a preliminary investigation, Zell, who was walking southbound, disobeyed the warning devices and walked around the train gates that were down, police said in a statement.
Officials believe Zell was trying to cross the tracks before the train entered the crossing, police said.
The fatal incident occurred near the Mount Prospect station on the Union Pacific Northwest line, Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said.
An outbound express train struck the pedestrian near South Emerson Street in Mount Prospect around 6:30 p.m., Reile said. That train was not scheduled to stop at Mount Prospect and was due into Arlington Heights around 6:50 p.m., according to Reile.
The train was immediately stopped between the two stations.
Trains were stopped in both directions for about two hours while authorities investigated. No information on the victim was immediately available.
Service was restored around 8:30 p.m., according to officials.
