6 years, 11 months ago by Scott Hardy
Amtrak service from Quincy to Chicago delayed
One person is dead, after a collision between an Amtrak train and a vehicle Thursday morning in McDonough County, which interrupted service between Quincy and Chicago for over three hours.
Authorities say that the accident happened around 11 AM, when an Amtrak train hit the vehicle on the crossing, located between Colchester and the 336 interchange. McDonough County Sheriff Rick VanBrooker says 76 year old Alfred Belles, who was inside the vehicle at the time of the accident, has died. Belles was a retired WIU professor. The Illinois State Police say that Belles was turning off US 136 onto a private drive, when he pulled into the path of the Amtrak train, which was on its way to Quincy. No train passengers aboard the Carl Sandburg were injured, but a pregnant woman was taken to a Macomb hospital as a precaution.
The crossing has no gates, but does have railroad crossing signage.
