Aug. 06--No injuries were reported when a Green Line train derailed on the South Side on Wednesday afternoon, but service was suspended on part of the line, according to the CTA.
The derailment occurred around 2:40 p.m. near 61st Street, but no cars of the southbound train tipped over, according to CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase, who called the incident "minor."
All 78 passengers were safely evacuated, including two people in wheelchairs, fire officials said at the scene.
Service was suspended in both directions between the Cottage Grove and Garfield stations, Chase said. Shuttle buses were dispatched, and the CTA suggested using buses 3, 4, 55 and 63 as alternates.
An emergency medical plan was called for the accident, sending six ambulances to the scene. The plan was secured within a half-hour, according to fire officials.
Serita Brewington, 54, said her friend was on the train and was on the phone with her when the train derailed.
"All of the sudden she went, 'Oh my God. The train is speeding. The train is speeding,' " Brewington said. "Next thing her phone goes dead."
Brewington knew her friend was on the Green Line train approaching 63rd Street, so she ran a couple of blocks to the train after getting out of work near 66th Street and Yale Avenue.
"It startled me," Brewington said.
When she got to the train, she learned that her friend was uninjured and was picked up by her husband.
Brewington said she has used the CTA Green Line for decades and would get nervous each time the train turned near 63rd Street and Calumet Avenue.
"Sometimes it yanks you real fast," she said.
