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Transcript of 911 calls after deadly derailment and bridge collapse
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Updated: July 12, 2012 6:08PM
The following is a transcript of 911 calls provided by the Glenview Police Department from the July 4 derailment and bridge collapse that killed a Glenview couple:
Man: Yeah, it appears there’s a structure fire, or a car fire on Shermer.
Operator: Where on Shermer?
Man: Shermer and Willow
Woman: There’s like black smoke.
Man: There’s like a tremendous amount of black smoke.
Operator: Shermer and Willow?
Man: Shermer and Willow. It actually, I think it was like either a train derailment or something has happened over here. It’s completely black. You can’t even see south.
Operator: South of Willow or north of Willow?
Man: South of Willow. You can’t even see going down the viaduct. You cannot even see south of Willow down Shermer. It’s, there’s all black.
Operator: All right. We’re going to send the fire department over there.
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Woman: I just passed Shermer and Willow and there’s like a fire or something by the train overpass.
Operator: OK. On the railroad tracks?
Woman: Yeah, well it looks like that. It’s all black smoke. You can’t even see down the road.
Operator: OK, all right. Is it south of Willow Road, then?
Woman: It’s south of Willow.
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Man: Yeah, I just called. We’re at Willow and Shermer. It is a train derailment here.
Operator: OK. A train derailed?
Man: Yeah, a train derailed and there’s a tremendous amount of black smoke. It’s blocked Shermer completely.
Operator: OK.
Man: It fell off the viaduct. It looks like the bridge collapsed or a train fell off the bridge.
Operator: OK, the bridge may have collapsed?
Woman:: Yeah, it looks like it. It looks like it melted or something.
Man: It looks like it buckled due to the heat or something but the entire road is blocked.
Operator: OK. We’re on our way there, sir.
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Man: ...The train just derailed on the tracks over Shermer Road.
Operator: The train derailed over the track?
Man: The train derailed. All the cars are sticking up. There’s huge piles of smoke. I don’t see any fire but there’s cars hanging down into the road.
Operator: All right. We’re going to send the fire department over there.
