Dispatchers Praised for Quick Response
By Bob Susnjara, Chicago Daily Herald
Chicago, Ill. — Two Antioch 9-1-1 dispatchers are being praised for quickly resolving a potentially lethal situation for a Zion couple who stopped their car on railroad tracks with a freight train bearing down.
Lake Villa Police Chief Ron Roth said the couple became confused while driving in a construction zone near Grass Lake Road and Route 83 at 7:41 p.m. Sunday. The driver, he said, turned north onto the rails and stopped.
“They had no idea a train was coming up,” Roth said.
Once on the tracks, a woman in the car, reportedly seven months pregnant, called 9-1-1 and reached Antioch’s dispatch center. Dispatcher Tia Chinn said Tuesday she told the couple to immediately exit the car, then sent police to the scene.
Chinn’s partner, Kimberly Winandy, sprang into action and called Canadian National Railway’s dispatchers, asking that trains be immediately stopped. It turned out a 70-car CN freight train was heading north toward the vehicle.
Police said CN dispatchers were able to halt the train just 40 yards short of the car. Chinn said the couple, believed to be in their 20s, was out of harm’s way by then.
“We know it takes a long time for the train to stop,” said Chinn, who’s been a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Antioch for eight years.
Roth applauded the quick work by both dispatchers.
“We’re very fortunate the dispatchers thought to call Canadian National right away,” he said.
Antioch Police Chief Craig Somerville said he’s consistently amazed by how the dispatchers perform in the stressful environment of one of the busiest 9-1-1 call centers in Lake County.
No injuries were reported, though the woman who called 9-1-1 was taken to a hospital for an examination, authorities said.
CN spokesman Patrick Waldron confirmed the railroad received the Antioch dispatcher’s call and stressed that anyone stopped or stuck on tracks should exit a vehicle first, then summon help.
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