A Chicago train derailment at O'Hare International Airport early Monday morning has left 32 people injured after it failed to stop at the end of the line.
The eight-car commuter train derailed at approximately 2:55 a.m. as it was pulling into O'Hare traveling from the Rosemont station,
Chicago Fire Department Spokesman Larry Langford told ABC News.
According to Chicago Transit Authority spokesman Brian Steele, the train's front two cars suffered the most significant damage as a result of the derailment. The train was apparently going too fast as it approached the end-of-line station and didn't stop at a bumping post — a metal shock absorber at the end of the tracks.
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"Apparently (it) was traveling at a rate of speed that clearly was higher than a normal train would be," Steele said during a subsequent press conference about the derailment.
According to passengers and witnesses, the train did not appear to decelerate as it entered the station,
local ABC News affiliate WLS-TV Chicago reported.
"We will be looking at equipment. We will be looking at signals. We'll be looking at the human factor and any extenuating circumstances," Steele added. "But really at this point, it's far too soon to speculate."
The train reportedly jumped at least 10 feet off the rails as a result of the derailment.
"The train actually climbed over the last stop, jumped up on the sidewalk and then went up the stairs and escalator," Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said at the press conference,
the Associated Press reported.
As is standard protocol, the train operator will be tested for drugs and alcohol, according to the Chicago Transit Authority. Though the train platform likely did not suffer structural damage as a result of the derailments, WLS-TV reported that it will take nearly 24 hours for the train to be removed, which requires it being dismantled on the track.
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