The Angels Crossing

The Angels Crossing. A tragic School Bus and
Train Crash.
by deputy_2, 10th January 2001.

This story is based on a true story. Only names and addresses have
been changed.

Journal of a Chicago Northshore Police Officer

Chapter 84

The Angels Crossing

The names and addresses, fire, police, squad car numbers, and
all
locations are fictitious.
The following is based on a true story.

Wendy E. Thatcher was driving her first school bus loaded with
21
passengers on this warm, clear and sunny day. There was not a cloud
in
the sky. She had passed her driving test a few weeks ago and was
feeling
pretty good about the way that she was handling the long rig up
and
down the small winding roads in and around Cottageville.

The young teenagers had taken advantage of her being new to the
job
and were cutting up and yelling, but she was taking it all in. She had
been
warned earlier by some of the other drivers, so she knew what to
expect.
She had not prepared herself for what was about to occur, as she
approached the crossing and slowly drove eastbound on Adams road,
only
a few feet from the tracks. There was no way she could have, not even
a
seasoned driver would have thought about what was going to
happen.

She pulled up to the crossing and turned on her four way reds and
put
out her flag, opening the right front door and looked down the tracks
to
the south and then back to her left ( north ) and crossed over the
tracks.
She had a traffic control light in front of her and there was
another
vehicle waiting for the light to change to green. The traffic control
light
was located at Adams and State Highway 10.

The intersection was laid out a little strangely. As soon as you
crossed
over the train tracks there was a traffic control light. They had
always
had a problem with the traffic light sticking or even sometimes
changing
much too fast. It was a bad design. But they really didn't know what
the
answer was, so it was always a sore subject at village board
meetings.

A few years before I had been on the job as a police officer in the
Village
of Kenilworth. I had set up my radar just west of the train crossing
in an
empty parking lot with bushes on the west side an opening to the
south
and an opening to the north. The east side also being covered
with
bushes, and the train tracks only a few feet away. I had full
authority to
make an arrest in the village south of Kenilworth, which was Wilmette
and
the one north, Winnetka. As a rule I did not. I had set the radar up
so I
could view the traffic behind me for about one quarter of a mile and
to
the north in front of me at a distance of one quarter of a mile.

I had just finished a coffee break inside the station, made a run
through
the business area and then parked in the parking lot to set up radar.
It
was shortly after two in the morning and traffic was Very light out. I
had
set my radar beeper to go off at fifteen miles over the posted limit
of 35
mph. When it was this late people would tend to go at least ten
miles
over the limit and I would always try to give them a little more of
an
edge. Most of the other guys would only allow ten over. I wasn't
greedy I
wrote more than any two of them put together, even with the extra
five
miles over.

I heard the beep and looked at my radar meter (screen). I could
not
believe it. It was bouncing between 85 and 87 miles an hour. I looked
in
the mirror and saw nothing. It was still bouncing. I knew that there
was a
vehicle coming from the south, but I could not see him. I opened the
door
and stood up and looked down the long stretch of roadway and still
did
not see any vehicle. I turned off my radar and then turned it back
on
setting the meter as per manual, as I would always do before
attempting
to use it. The test was successful, so I set it once more and watched
as
it started to beep again. This time it went up to 93 mph and
stayed
steady without any bounce. What the heck did I have on radar? I
thought
to myself. Then I made a decision to move my vehicle to the other side
of
the street and turn my radar around to face him. I certainly did not
want
this individual crawling into my trunk at that speed.

Then before I could move my vehicle I saw a bright light coming from
the
south and could tell by the moving back and forth of the bright beam
that
it was a train, an express train and not an automobile after all. That
was
the first time I had witnessed a train speeding caught on radar. He
went
through our village at a steady 93-mph and never slowing as he
passed
the train station going north. I followed him with the beam of my
radar
and he kept the same speed for up to a full mile, until the train
tracks
curved and trees and brush in the next village north covered the
radar
beam.

I reported the speeding train to my superiors and was brushed off with
a,
don't rock the boat attitude. Hey, they have been doing that for as
long
as I've been here, one of the old timers piped up. Can't fight city
hall you
know, another one said. Well, I am the rookie and I knew when to
keep
my mouth shut. There will come a time when someone will be killed
and
then perhaps we may try to fight city hall. I thought to myself.

The main reason I interrupted the above story was to inform you of
what
speeds the express trains travel and perhaps give you an
understanding
of the circumstances that would follow, should a train strike
something or
someone on or near the tracks at a high rate of speed.

Larry Struggles a young teenager on the school bus saw the express
train
before he heard the 'Whammmmmmmp. Whammmmmp.' Of the Engineer's
air horns. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Move the bus, more the
bus
there is an express train coming right at us." Some of the other
teenagers
saw the train approaching and heard the dreadful moaning of the
air
horns. 'Whammmmmp. Whammmmmp. Whammmmmmmp. Whammmmmmp.
They started screaming at the bus driver as well. Wendy had been
fore
warned that the kids were going to be making a lot of noise, so
be
prepared for it, they told her. Larry reached the driver and told her
about
the train coming and it was going to strike the rear end of the bus.
Those
were the last words that Larry would ever speak, as the train
collided
with the bus.

The school bus had been sitting on Adams road facing east as the
rear
end was struck in the left side. The mounting bolts that held the body
to
the frame were ripped out, caused by the force of the impact from
the
train striking the bus. The body was torn off, flipped around and
dropped
to the ground landing on its flooring (belly pan) facing to the west,
just a
few feet off of the tracks. If you had just walked up on the scene,
you
may think that someone had removed the body and placed it on the
ground.

The Chief of police, Robert J. Drake was in his office directly across
the
street a short thirty yards north of Adams. His front window faced
out
onto State Highway 10. From his location, looking out of his front
window
he would have a clear view of the train station and the intersection
of
Adams and the crossing.

He heard the air horns as they started to sound, 'Whammmmmp.
Whammmmmmmmp. Whammp. Whammp. Whammmmmmmmp.
Whammmmmmp. Whammmmmmp. He knew that there was a serious
problem as soon as he had first heard them. It was normal for a
train,
especially an express train to blow his horn as he came through
Cottageville. There are three crossing in the village. A crossing
was
located on each side of the train station, and one about a mile south.
He
looked out of his window and saw the express train bearing down on
the
school bus. He could hear the brakes as they were locked up and
were
making a loud terrible screaming rubbing noise against the rails below
in an
attempt to slow and even perhaps stop it before striking the
school
bus. The train stopped one and one half miles south past the point
of
impact.
The Chief looked to his left and saw the bus.

"Oh my dear Lord, Oh my God, Oh God. The school bus is sitting on
the
train tracks directly in the path of the express train. Oh Godddd!"
He
yelled. He saw the train make contact and saw the body separate
from
the frame beneath it. He did not hesitate; he reached behind his desk
and
pushed the air raid siren button. That was a signal that something
tragic
had occurred and or a major fire had broken out. The siren would
sound
for a steady five minutes, unless it was turned off manually. All
volunteer
fire fighters and police personnel would respond from miles around
the
village.

Then he went to his radio that was sitting on top of the dispatch
desk
and gave out an emergency radio message over the police radio band.
"All
units, including police and fire departments, respond to Cottageville,
at
the train crossing, Adams and Highway 10. We have just had a train
strike
a school bus loaded with children." "Also, Butler, have your
ambulances
respond and please notify Kenwood and Adams for their ambulance
and
fire rescue as well." The Authority is Chief Robert Drake,
Cottageville
Police Department, at 0752 hours. KJJl 2559." The Chief had been
professional in his performance; he had made all the right moves
and
made then without any hesitation. Now he was running towards the
scene
to do whatever he could to assist.

There was a nurse that had backed out of the White Hen Pantry
parking
lot that was located directly in front of where the bus had been
sitting,
just across State Highway 10. She saw the accident and had left her
car
parked a few feet into the intersection and was also running towards
the
scene.

As volunteers starting flowing into the accident scene, and police
and
firemen and women responded, the nurse was seen running back to
the
White Hen Pantry. She yelled to the clerk that was standing by
the
doorway, " I need a turkey baster and I need it now!" She then ran
back
across the street after getting the item and went to one of the
teenagers
that was lying inside the body of the school bus on the floor.
The
teenager had internal injuries and she needed the turkey baster to
suck
the blood out of her mouth and throat. The young 16-year-old died
on
the way to Kenwood Memorial.

There were seven teenagers killed in all that day and fourteen
badly
injured, including the bus driver, Wendy Thatcher. A lot of heroes at
the
scene, too many to even try and count.

Wendy Thatcher is still trying to get over the depression caused by
the
accident. Was it her fault, was she to blame? Some say she was, but
it
was more, it was city hall for allowing the poorly designed crossing
to go
for so long, before being corrected, it was the poorly designed
traffic
control signal. It was definitely not the fault of the Engineer. The
Lord
knows he did everything in his power to warn the bus driver and to
try
and stop his fast moving train.

Was the railroad guilty of any wrongdoing? What do you think? I for
one
believe it is totally unacceptable to allow a vehicle with so much
weight
and so much power and speed to travel through a community such
as
Cottageville, or any other city or town for that matter at the speeds
that
they do. Its time now to fight city hall!

The crossing has been named "THE ANGELS CROSSING." In loving
memory
to the seven that died there. Appropriately so.

? James D. Fullington
2001 Feb. 26 All Right Reserved
Deputy_2

The Angels Crossing. A tragic School Bus and
Train Crash.
by deputy_2, 10th January 2001.

This story is based on a true story. Only names and addresses have
been changed.

Journal of a Chicago Northshore Police Officer

Chapter 84

The Angels Crossing

The names and addresses, fire, police, squad car numbers, and
all
locations are fictitious.
The following is based on a true story.

Wendy E. Thatcher was driving her first school bus loaded with
21
passengers on this warm, clear and sunny day. There was not a cloud
in
the sky. She had passed her driving test a few weeks ago and was
feeling
pretty good about the way that she was handling the long rig up
and
down the small winding roads in and around Cottageville.

The young teenagers had taken advantage of her being new to the
job
and were cutting up and yelling, but she was taking it all in. She had
been
warned earlier by some of the other drivers, so she knew what to
expect.
She had not prepared herself for what was about to occur, as she
approached the crossing and slowly drove eastbound on Adams road,
only
a few feet from the tracks. There was no way she could have, not even
a
seasoned driver would have thought about what was going to
happen.

She pulled up to the crossing and turned on her four way reds and
put
out her flag, opening the right front door and looked down the tracks
to
the south and then back to her left ( north ) and crossed over the
tracks.
She had a traffic control light in front of her and there was
another
vehicle waiting for the light to change to green. The traffic control
light
was located at Adams and State Highway 10.

The intersection was laid out a little strangely. As soon as you
crossed
over the train tracks there was a traffic control light. They had
always
had a problem with the traffic light sticking or even sometimes
changing
much too fast. It was a bad design. But they really didn't know what
the
answer was, so it was always a sore subject at village board
meetings.

A few years before I had been on the job as a police officer in the
Village
of Kenilworth. I had set up my radar just west of the train crossing
in an
empty parking lot with bushes on the west side an opening to the
south
and an opening to the north. The east side also being covered
with
bushes, and the train tracks only a few feet away. I had full
authority to
make an arrest in the village south of Kenilworth, which was Wilmette
and
the one north, Winnetka. As a rule I did not. I had set the radar up
so I
could view the traffic behind me for about one quarter of a mile and
to
the north in front of me at a distance of one quarter of a mile.

I had just finished a coffee break inside the station, made a run
through
the business area and then parked in the parking lot to set up radar.
It
was shortly after two in the morning and traffic was Very light out. I
had
set my radar beeper to go off at fifteen miles over the posted limit
of 35
mph. When it was this late people would tend to go at least ten
miles
over the limit and I would always try to give them a little more of
an
edge. Most of the other guys would only allow ten over. I wasn't
greedy I
wrote more than any two of them put together, even with the extra
five
miles over.

I heard the beep and looked at my radar meter (screen). I could
not
believe it. It was bouncing between 85 and 87 miles an hour. I looked
in
the mirror and saw nothing. It was still bouncing. I knew that there
was a
vehicle coming from the south, but I could not see him. I opened the
door
and stood up and looked down the long stretch of roadway and still
did
not see any vehicle. I turned off my radar and then turned it back
on
setting the meter as per manual, as I would always do before
attempting
to use it. The test was successful, so I set it once more and watched
as
it started to beep again. This time it went up to 93 mph and
stayed
steady without any bounce. What the heck did I have on radar? I
thought
to myself. Then I made a decision to move my vehicle to the other side
of
the street and turn my radar around to face him. I certainly did not
want
this individual crawling into my trunk at that speed.

Then before I could move my vehicle I saw a bright light coming from
the
south and could tell by the moving back and forth of the bright beam
that
it was a train, an express train and not an automobile after all. That
was
the first time I had witnessed a train speeding caught on radar. He
went
through our village at a steady 93-mph and never slowing as he
passed
the train station going north. I followed him with the beam of my
radar
and he kept the same speed for up to a full mile, until the train
tracks
curved and trees and brush in the next village north covered the
radar
beam.

I reported the speeding train to my superiors and was brushed off with
a,
don't rock the boat attitude. Hey, they have been doing that for as
long
as I've been here, one of the old timers piped up. Can't fight city
hall you
know, another one said. Well, I am the rookie and I knew when to
keep
my mouth shut. There will come a time when someone will be killed
and
then perhaps we may try to fight city hall. I thought to myself.

The main reason I interrupted the above story was to inform you of
what
speeds the express trains travel and perhaps give you an
understanding
of the circumstances that would follow, should a train strike
something or
someone on or near the tracks at a high rate of speed.

Larry Struggles a young teenager on the school bus saw the express
train
before he heard the 'Whammmmmmmp. Whammmmmp.' Of the Engineer's
air horns. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Move the bus, more the
bus
there is an express train coming right at us." Some of the other
teenagers
saw the train approaching and heard the dreadful moaning of the
air
horns. 'Whammmmmp. Whammmmmp. Whammmmmmmp. Whammmmmmp.
They started screaming at the bus driver as well. Wendy had been
fore
warned that the kids were going to be making a lot of noise, so
be
prepared for it, they told her. Larry reached the driver and told her
about
the train coming and it was going to strike the rear end of the bus.
Those
were the last words that Larry would ever speak, as the train
collided
with the bus.

The school bus had been sitting on Adams road facing east as the
rear
end was struck in the left side. The mounting bolts that held the body
to
the frame were ripped out, caused by the force of the impact from
the
train striking the bus. The body was torn off, flipped around and
dropped
to the ground landing on its flooring (belly pan) facing to the west,
just a
few feet off of the tracks. If you had just walked up on the scene,
you
may think that someone had removed the body and placed it on the
ground.

The Chief of police, Robert J. Drake was in his office directly across
the
street a short thirty yards north of Adams. His front window faced
out
onto State Highway 10. From his location, looking out of his front
window
he would have a clear view of the train station and the intersection
of
Adams and the crossing.

He heard the air horns as they started to sound, 'Whammmmmp.
Whammmmmmmmp. Whammp. Whammp. Whammmmmmmmp.
Whammmmmmp. Whammmmmmp. He knew that there was a serious
problem as soon as he had first heard them. It was normal for a
train,
especially an express train to blow his horn as he came through
Cottageville. There are three crossing in the village. A crossing
was
located on each side of the train station, and one about a mile south.
He
looked out of his window and saw the express train bearing down on
the
school bus. He could hear the brakes as they were locked up and
were
making a loud terrible screaming rubbing noise against the rails below
in an
attempt to slow and even perhaps stop it before striking the
school
bus. The train stopped one and one half miles south past the point
of
impact.
The Chief looked to his left and saw the bus.

"Oh my dear Lord, Oh my God, Oh God. The school bus is sitting on
the
train tracks directly in the path of the express train. Oh Godddd!"
He
yelled. He saw the train make contact and saw the body separate
from
the frame beneath it. He did not hesitate; he reached behind his desk
and
pushed the air raid siren button. That was a signal that something
tragic
had occurred and or a major fire had broken out. The siren would
sound
for a steady five minutes, unless it was turned off manually. All
volunteer
fire fighters and police personnel would respond from miles around
the
village.

Then he went to his radio that was sitting on top of the dispatch
desk
and gave out an emergency radio message over the police radio band.
"All
units, including police and fire departments, respond to Cottageville,
at
the train crossing, Adams and Highway 10. We have just had a train
strike
a school bus loaded with children." "Also, Butler, have your
ambulances
respond and please notify Kenwood and Adams for their ambulance
and
fire rescue as well." The Authority is Chief Robert Drake,
Cottageville
Police Department, at 0752 hours. KJJl 2559." The Chief had been
professional in his performance; he had made all the right moves
and
made then without any hesitation. Now he was running towards the
scene
to do whatever he could to assist.

There was a nurse that had backed out of the White Hen Pantry
parking
lot that was located directly in front of where the bus had been
sitting,
just across State Highway 10. She saw the accident and had left her
car
parked a few feet into the intersection and was also running towards
the
scene.

As volunteers starting flowing into the accident scene, and police
and
firemen and women responded, the nurse was seen running back to
the
White Hen Pantry. She yelled to the clerk that was standing by
the
doorway, " I need a turkey baster and I need it now!" She then ran
back
across the street after getting the item and went to one of the
teenagers
that was lying inside the body of the school bus on the floor.
The
teenager had internal injuries and she needed the turkey baster to
suck
the blood out of her mouth and throat. The young 16-year-old died
on
the way to Kenwood Memorial.

There were seven teenagers killed in all that day and fourteen
badly
injured, including the bus driver, Wendy Thatcher. A lot of heroes at
the
scene, too many to even try and count.

Wendy Thatcher is still trying to get over the depression caused by
the
accident. Was it her fault, was she to blame? Some say she was, but
it
was more, it was city hall for allowing the poorly designed crossing
to go
for so long, before being corrected, it was the poorly designed
traffic
control signal. It was definitely not the fault of the Engineer. The
Lord
knows he did everything in his power to warn the bus driver and to
try
and stop his fast moving train.

Was the railroad guilty of any wrongdoing? What do you think? I for
one
believe it is totally unacceptable to allow a vehicle with so much
weight
and so much power and speed to travel through a community such
as
Cottageville, or any other city or town for that matter at the speeds
that
they do. Its time now to fight city hall!

The crossing has been named "THE ANGELS CROSSING." In loving
memory
to the seven that died there. Appropriately so.

? James D. Fullington
2001 Feb. 26 All Right Reserved
Deputy_2

The Angels Crossing. A tragic School Bus and
Train Crash.
by deputy_2, 10th January 2001.

This story is based on a true story. Only names and addresses have
been changed.

Journal of a Chicago Northshore Police Officer

Chapter 84

The Angels Crossing

The names and addresses, fire, police, squad car numbers, and
all
locations are fictitious.
The following is based on a true story.

Wendy E. Thatcher was driving her first school bus loaded with
21
passengers on this warm, clear and sunny day. There was not a cloud
in
the sky. She had passed her driving test a few weeks ago and was
feeling
pretty good about the way that she was handling the long rig up
and
down the small winding roads in and around Cottageville.

The young teenagers had taken advantage of her being new to the
job
and were cutting up and yelling, but she was taking it all in. She had
been
warned earlier by some of the other drivers, so she knew what to
expect.
She had not prepared herself for what was about to occur, as she
approached the crossing and slowly drove eastbound on Adams road,
only
a few feet from the tracks. There was no way she could have, not even
a
seasoned driver would have thought about what was going to
happen.

She pulled up to the crossing and turned on her four way reds and
put
out her flag, opening the right front door and looked down the tracks
to
the south and then back to her left ( north ) and crossed over the
tracks.
She had a traffic control light in front of her and there was
another
vehicle waiting for the light to change to green. The traffic control
light
was located at Adams and State Highway 10.

The intersection was laid out a little strangely. As soon as you
crossed
over the train tracks there was a traffic control light. They had
always
had a problem with the traffic light sticking or even sometimes
changing
much too fast. It was a bad design. But they really didn't know what
the
answer was, so it was always a sore subject at village board
meetings.

A few years before I had been on the job as a police officer in the
Village
of Kenilworth. I had set up my radar just west of the train crossing
in an
empty parking lot with bushes on the west side an opening to the
south
and an opening to the north. The east side also being covered
with
bushes, and the train tracks only a few feet away. I had full
authority to
make an arrest in the village south of Kenilworth, which was Wilmette
and
the one north, Winnetka. As a rule I did not. I had set the radar up
so I
could view the traffic behind me for about one quarter of a mile and
to
the north in front of me at a distance of one quarter of a mile.

I had just finished a coffee break inside the station, made a run
through
the business area and then parked in the parking lot to set up radar.
It
was shortly after two in the morning and traffic was Very light out. I
had
set my radar beeper to go off at fifteen miles over the posted limit
of 35
mph. When it was this late people would tend to go at least ten
miles
over the limit and I would always try to give them a little more of
an
edge. Most of the other guys would only allow ten over. I wasn't
greedy I
wrote more than any two of them put together, even with the extra
five
miles over.

I heard the beep and looked at my radar meter (screen). I could
not
believe it. It was bouncing between 85 and 87 miles an hour. I looked
in
the mirror and saw nothing. It was still bouncing. I knew that there
was a
vehicle coming from the south, but I could not see him. I opened the
door
and stood up and looked down the long stretch of roadway and still
did
not see any vehicle. I turned off my radar and then turned it back
on
setting the meter as per manual, as I would always do before
attempting
to use it. The test was successful, so I set it once more and watched
as
it started to beep again. This time it went up to 93 mph and
stayed
steady without any bounce. What the heck did I have on radar? I
thought
to myself. Then I made a decision to move my vehicle to the other side
of
the street and turn my radar around to face him. I certainly did not
want
this individual crawling into my trunk at that speed.

Then before I could move my vehicle I saw a bright light coming from
the
south and could tell by the moving back and forth of the bright beam
that
it was a train, an express train and not an automobile after all. That
was
the first time I had witnessed a train speeding caught on radar. He
went
through our village at a steady 93-mph and never slowing as he
passed
the train station going north. I followed him with the beam of my
radar
and he kept the same speed for up to a full mile, until the train
tracks
curved and trees and brush in the next village north covered the
radar