Passengers rescued after storms knock trees onto CTA Yellow Line tracks
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Passengers on the CTA Yellow Line had to be rescued after part of a tree fell on the tracks during Thursday night's storms.
The Evanston Fire Department said a tree fell and landed on a moving train just before midnight. Multiple passengers had to be rescued and helped off the train down a steep slope to safety.
"Out of nowhere it just started shaking and everybody's on the floor, trying to brace themselves," passenger Christina said.
"All of a sudden, train stops, half the lights go out. I'm like, 'Oh, something happened didn't it?' passenger Isaih said. "They actually chopped down with a bunch of saws, the actual pathway through the forest and like you said, they had a couple of ropes and we were just instructed to hold the ropes and it was a very steep elevation at that spot and we just took the rope and went all the way down."
The train, which was carrying several passengers at the time, derailed.
"It's was pretty bumpy for a while," passenger Nick said. "I think the car was knocked off the tracks. I'm pretty happy that we didn't flip."
Firefighters had to rescue people from inside the train, walking them down a steep slope pathway they created to safety.
"They tried to chainsaw actually a pathway so we could walk down because there is no way out. we are elevated up there, so there was really no way to get down unless they helped us get down," passenger Christina said.
The Yellow Line resumed service Friday morning.
Meanwhile, also in Evanston, massive trees snapped, narrowly missing one person's home.
"Years ago, I personally went to the city and said we want to trim this tree," Evanston resident Murnel said.
Murnel said he's been trying to have this tree trimmed on Emerson near Dewey in Evanston for years.
He knew it would soon become a problem.
Branches landed in his neighbor's front yard, blocking the sidewalk and part of the road.
Just around the corner, another massive tree fell nearby. Thankfully, it doesn't look like it hit a home either.
The torrential rain and high winds also brought down trees in Elmhurst, where a massive branch ripped from its side, crashing down and partially hitting a neighbor's home.
And in St. Charles a tree fell onto an elderly couple's home. It sounds like the couple is okay after having to be rescued by firefighters there.
