BY BETSEY STONE

CHICAGO - Thirteen passengers were killed and 119 injured as an Amtrak train crashed into a steel hauling truck March 15 in Bourbonnais, Illinois, 55 miles south of Chicago. This was the third-deadliest accident in Amtrak's history.

The initial investigation and press coverage has focused on blaming truck driver John Stokes for the accident, ignoring the dangers inherent in rail crossings. Stokes reportedly told the authorities that he did not see the train or the warning lights until he had started driving across the tracks and that the gates closed before he could get out of the way.

Since 1964, there have been three fatal accidents and four injuries at this rail crossing, according to records of the Illinois Commerce Commission. Nationally, there were 422 deaths in crossing accidents last year.

A number of people who live in the area commented on the malfunctioning crossing gates at the intersection of the crash site. A worker at Birmingham Steel, the steel mill near the accident, said, "I drive through there every day, and several times, while I'm going to work. I've seen that gate going up and down without a train in sight." Several workers, including some at Birmingham Steel, aided injured passengers and searched for survivors.  
 
 
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