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4 | January 24, 2019 | The Mokena Messenger mokena mokenamessenger.com Show Your Heart Some Love Feb. 9! How healthy isyour heart? For just $45, you can find out at Silver Cross Hospital’s Love Your Heart screening Saturday, Feb. 9, from 7to11a.m. in the Silver Cross Hospital Conference Center! You’ll receiveabaseline cardiacrisk assessment that includes measurements of: þ Total cholesterol including HDL and LDL levels þ Blood glucose level þ Triglyceride level SPEAKERS þ Blood pressure þ Body fat and þ 12-lead EKG. HeartDisease Risk Factors and Prevention - 8a.m. with Dr.Thomas Kason,boardcertified cardiologist HearttoHeart-10 a.m. Exercise and NutritionTips with exercise physiologist Charles Murray, CHWC Plus aheart-healthy breakfast, important health information, giveaways and more! It allhappens Saturday,Feb.9,from7to11a.m. Seating is limited so register early at silvercross.org or by calling 1-888-660-HEAL (4325). A12-hour fast is required. PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE THROUGH SPIRITUAL & ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE We invite you to experience the vibrant, warm and welcoming environment at St. Mary Catholic School. See why students succeed. Feel our sense of community. Meet faculty, teachers, families, and students in Preschool through 8th grade. Come see the difference. Open House SUNDAY, JANUARY 27 | 12 - 2 p.m. + Tours + Information + Refreshments www.stmaryschoolmokena.org 11409 195th Street, Mokena 22-<strong>012419</strong>_STMARY
mokenamessenger.com news the Mokena Messenger | January 24, 2019 | 5 November near-miss sparks investigation and policy reform Megan Schuller Assistant Editor When The Mokena Messenger reported on the near-miss collision that Mokena Police Officer Peter Stanglewicz captured on dash cam footage on Nov. 9, Metra did not release the entire story of the events that transpired that day. A recent investigation into the incident, prompted by the police dash cam footage that went viral, has revealed that four trains had gate activation malfunctions when crossing at 191st Street on the morning of Nov. 9. The footage taken from the cabs of several trains show that the crossing gates did not activate for train No. 412 before crossing the intersection at 49 mph at 7:25 a.m. The gates then lowered and raised twice as train No. 416 went through the intersection at about 40 mph at about 8 a.m. The gates were activated correctly for train No. 414, which went through the intersection at about 7:42 a.m. after 412 and before 416. Video footage from train No. 414 had already been overridden by the time Metra searched for the footage, according to Metra Spokesperson Michael Gillis. The investigation — reported at the Jan. 16 Metra Board of Directors meeting — revealed that six trains passed through the intersection without incident before the four that encountered problems. According to a press release issued by Metra on Jan. 16, the engineer on train No. 412 encountered a signal along the track requiring him to make an unusual stop just before the Mokena Front Street Station. The engineer contacted the Metra train dispatcher and received permission to go past the stop track signal and proceeded at a speed allowed by the signal in his cab. The engineer followed the protocol in place at the time but failed to report that the crossing arms were malfunctioning. “The signal was telling him to operate at normal speed,” Gillis said. “We have since taken steps to improve safety by changing to rules to travel at slower speeds.” In the dash cam footage captured by the Mokena police vehicle, crews can be seen working near the tracks as train No. 506 whizzes by. When The Messenger first took a look at the November incident back in December, Metra spokesperson Sylvia Cooper said that the crew seen in the video was on the scene at the time attempting to repair safety equipment that control the crossing gates. Now it has been revealed that those were signal maintainers who were dispatched to locate the issue with the track signal error prompting the trains to stop near Front Street. The Metra release reported that while the crew member was working, inbound trains Nos. 414, 416 and 506 encountered the same track signal error requiring an unusual stop and followed the same procedure. The police dash cam footage caught train No. 506 as it went through the crossing at 52 mph. The footage from both the train and the dash cam show that the crossing gates failed to activate before that train reached the intersection. Gillis said that of the 566 grade crossings in the Metra system, the 191st Street crossing is unique in that there are two sets of signals and circuits in that stretch of the track, one alongside the track and the other is in the control room of the train. “As required, the engineer of train 506 stopped the train and reported the gate activation failure to the Metra train dispatcher,” the press release stated. “The dispatcher then reported the gate activation failure to the signal maintainer, who was aware of it because he was already at the scene trying to diagnose the track signal issue.” According to Metra’s investigation, the cause of both the track signal issue and the gate activation failure was an intermittent short in the electrical circuit that controlled the track signal and gates. Gillis said that the systems were repaired by that afternoon. The gates and track circuits went through “exhaustive testing,” Metra reported. The results of this investigation prompted permanent operating protocol changes within Metra that have been in effect since Dec. 6. While this is the only Metra line that utilizes the track, the freight lines that share the tracks will be subject to the subsequent rule changes, as well. “In situations where engineers are given permission by dispatchers to pass a ‘stop’ track signal they must now proceed at restricted speed, 20 mph or less, until the train reaches the next track signal that indicates the train can proceed at the maximum authorized speed, no matter what cab signal they receive,” the Metra press release read. “This reduction in speed will decrease the stopping distance required for a train in the event of a grade crossing protection failure or other emergency.” Additionally, Metra said it has reinforced its reporting policies for a gate activation failure, and is currently cooperating with a Federal Railroad Administration investigation. Mokena Police Department has been “in constant communication regarding the reported issues” according to Police Chief Steve Vaccaro. “Rest assured that if there is an incident reported to us we will dispatch an officer to investigate as we contact Metra and Metra Police,” Vaccaro said. To view the video footage from Nov. 9 provided by Metra, visit vimeo. com/311941830. Metra crossing again scene of incident, gate obliterated Megan Schuller Assistant Editor For the second time since November, a Metra crossing at 191st Street in Mokena drew a police response. A semitruck reportedly went through the Metra crossing on Jan. 14, which resulted in approximately $1,700 in damage to the gate arm and an oncoming train, according to a Metra spokesperson. The incident occurred at 7:03 a.m. as a truck traveling westbound crossed the tracks at 191st Street. The gate arm was knocked off the pole and was left hanging over the tracks before being hit by Metra Rock Island No. 410 train inbound to Chicago. Mokena resident Jesse Sinadinos was stopped on the opposite side of the tracks when the incident occurred. After witnessing the incident he reported it immediately to the police. He recalled the truck being stopped at the intersection’s crossing. The truck then proceeded when the gates briefly went up; however, the gates were activated to go back down because of another southbound train passing through the intersection. “The gates went up halfway and started coming down again for another train. It looked like the arm hit midway down the trailer,” Sinadinos said. The Messenger has been able to identify the driver of the truck as New Lenox resident Dennis Johns, owner of Johns and Sons Inc. Johns recalled that when the crossing arm came back down he was panicked in from Jan. 15 fear of there being another train close enough to hit him. “The train went by and the lights went off [on the crossing arm] so I proceeded,” Johns said. “I got about halfway through when they came back down on my trailer... I hurried to get the hell out of the crossing because I knew what it could do to my trailer. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” The debris damaged the cable beneath the train that supplies power for the lights, doors and heat to the passenger cars. This caused delays of 57 minutes along the Rock Island Metra line as the gate arm and damage to the train was addressed on the scene. The incident was reported to Mokena police, who later handed over to Metra police. Metra officials reviewed footage from the train, but its spokesperson said it is still unclear whether the gate came down as the truck was crossing, or if the truck struck the gate when it was down; however, Metra spokesperson Meg Thomas-Reile wrote in a subsequent email to The Messenger that “the lights at the crossing can be seen and then you see a truck going through the crossing. The train arrives at the crossing and the gate arm is down, clearly damaged and lying on the track. It was then struck by the train.” The Messenger has requested that video footage but, as of press time, is still waiting on Metra officials to review our Freedom of Information Act Request for it.
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