After 4 Deaths At Norwood Park Metra Crossing, Safety Improvements Underway 27%
By Molly DeVore26%
7/16/2026, 12:50:00 PM
Keywords: Metra, Norwood Park, Nagle Avenue, Safety Improvements, Union Pacific, Crossing Gates, Fatalities, Collisions
BS Summary: This article contains 18 faulty reasoning types, including Anecdotal, Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, and Loss Aversion, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 30% saturation with 143 hits. Analysis detected 749 faulty-reasoning hits from 476 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.4% and a BS Rank of 27% (16,036 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 73.30% of the article peer group.
NORWOOD PARK — New safety improvements are being put in place at a dangerous Nagle Avenue Metra crossing that’s been the site of multiple deaths in recent years.
Union Pacific, which owns the rail line, began installing a four-quadrant gate system at the crossing July 6.
The new gate system, which will fully close off the rail crossing and will have a time delay to avoid trapping vehicles, will prevent drivers from going around the gates, Union Pacific spokesperson Jill Micek said in an email.
Norwood Park resident Lorene Wilson was killed while driving through the crossing early last year after she exited Avondale Avenue onto the tracks.
The crossing gates were down, but the 69-year-old turned left into the wrong lane of traffic, went past the gate and was hit by a train, Metra said at the time.
Construction at the Metra tracks at Nagle Avenue as seen on July 7, 2026.
Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago
Since 2010, there have been 12 collisions at the crossing, including four that were fatal, according to data from Metra.
The majority of crashes involved a car, though one collision in 2010 injured a pedestrian, while in 2022 a train hit a CTA bus, injuring the driver.
Incidents at or near the crossing include:
In 2021, a 33-year-old ride-share driver was killed and a Norwood Park teen suffered significant injuries after the ride-share vehicle collided with a train;
In 2017, a 25-year-old woman died after a Metra train hit her car;
In 2014, a 17-year-old Taft High Schooler died while crossing the tracks a block south at Avondale and Bryn Mawr;
and in 2010, another Taft student was struck and seriously injured by a Metra train near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Nagle Avenue.
The most recent crash occurred on March 31, when a car with three occupants went under the crossing gate and was clipped by a train, according to Metra.
No injuries were reported.
Union Pacific cautions drivers to stop at least 15 feet from the nearest rail when a train is approaching and to exit their car and dial 911 if their vehicle stalls on the tracks.
More train safety information is here.
In addition to the four-quadrant gate system, Union Pacific is installing new tracks there as well as fresh concrete and asphalt, Micek said.
Construction is expected to be completed by July 27.
Nagle Avenue will be closed during construction, and Metra trains may experience delays of up to 15 minutes, Micek said.
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