May 31--A man who is apparently homeless was rescued Tuesday morning after he fell onto a canopy over a Metra platform, possibly while sleeping on a bridge over the rail lines in Grant Park, officials said.
Chicago Fire Department crews were called to an area near 400 S. Michigan Ave., at the Van Buren Street pedestrian bridge over the Metra Electric/South Shore Line tracks, after the man fell onto the canopy, said department spokesman Larry Langford. The man fell onto a plastic canopy over the train platform, with one of his legs breaking through it, about 10:45 a.m., a Metra spokeswoman said.
After crews rescued him, he was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair-to-serious condition, Langford said. He was conscious and alert when taken to the hospital, said Meg Reile, a Metra spokeswoman.
When crews arrived, they found that the man had fallen about 10 to 12 feet onto the top of the canopy, apparently from the pedestrian bridge, where he may have been sleeping, Langford said.
The rescue took some time because firefighters thought they might have to have the power to the electric trains turned off, but they were able to get onto the canopy by breaking through from underneath without being endangered by the power lines, officials said.
