Death on the Train

"I was thrown into the seat in front of me. Then the windows started crashing down on top of me. The floor was gone, and people were screaming for help." Thus Cliff Retis, 23, described the horror of last week's commuter-train collision in Chicago in which 44 people were killed and 350 injured. A train of new double-decker cars overshot a flag-stop station four miles from the Illinois Central commuter terminal in the Loop and began backing up to the platform. Apparently a following train of heavy older cars was not properly warned. The lead coach of the second train slammed into the last coach of the double-decker, shearing off the lower level of seats and passengers. Flags in the city were flown at half-staff, and rallies for both George McGovern and Richard Nixon were canceled. Since the new car shredded so thoroughly on impact, Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie announced that the state would withhold funds for further purchase of the modern equipment until investigation of the accident was completed.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.