Chicago Train Jumps Tracks, Climbs Escalator, Injuring 32

A pretty crazy train accident in Chicago this morning somehow did not cause any serious injuries: A Chicago Transit Authority train derailed as it pulled into the O'Hare International Airport station around 3am, and, well, we'll let the Fire Department commissioner take it from here: "The train actually climbed over the last stop, jumped up on the sidewalk, and then went up the stairs and escalators," says Jose Santiago. Thirty-two people were hurt, but none seriously, NBC Chicago reports. "Fortunately nobody was on the staircase," a Fire Department spokesperson tells Reuters. "Anybody on the staircase probably would have been killed."

It's not yet clear what caused the crash—CTA is reviewing video footage—but there are "bumping posts," shock absorbers fronted by big pieces of metal, at the end of the three train "pockets" at O'Hare, yet somehow the train jumped the bumper and kept traveling through the end of the platform. "It appears as though the train would have been going faster than a train normally berthing at this station would be," says a CTA spokesperson. "Normally a train pulls in at just a couple miles and hour and pulls into the station. Obviously this train did not stop so speed could be a factor here." A TSA employee who witnessed the crash confirms, "The train didn't even slow down when it was coming in." (More Chicago stories.)