In The News

Driver in fatal crash is cited for negligent driving

CHICAGO — A 64-year-old truck driver from Michigan has been cited for negligent driving after ramming his tractor trailer into a Chicago Transit Authority elevated train station, killing two women and injuring 21 other people.

Chicago police said late Sunday that Donald Wells of Metamora, Mich., received the traffic ticket earlier Sunday. No court date was immediately available.

The accident occurred during the Friday afternoon rush hour at the Cermak CTA stop, which serves the city's Chinatown neighborhood south of downtown.

Most of the 21 injured had been either in the bus shelter underneath the elevated train or in the stairwell, said fire department spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez. The two women killed died at the scene, she said.

The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the dead women as Elosia Guerrero, 47, and Delisia Brown, 18. At least three people remained hospitalized Sunday at Mount Sinai Hospital, and all were reported in fair condition.

Wells was briefly hospitalized after his truck careered off an expressway. After his release, he was led away by police in handcuffs, but no criminal charges had been filed as of Sunday night and police said a blood-alcohol test administered at the hospital was negative.

The crash was captured by at least one CTA surveillance camera, CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. The footage was turned over to police, who were examining it in an attempt to learn why the truck came off a nearby expressway ramp at an apparently high rate of speed and whether it failed to stop at a traffic light seconds before the crash.

The truck was operated by Plymouth, Mich.-based Whiteline Express Ltd., the company confirmed. A company spokeswoman declined to comment.