On March 24, 2014, a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line passenger train overran the bumper at the station at the O'Hare International Airport, injuring 34 people.[1] The accident caused $11,196,796 in damage.[2]
A spokesman stated that it was likely that the train entered the station at too high a speed.[3] It was later estimated that the train entered the station at 25 to 26 miles per hour (40 to 42 km/h), which was not an excessive speed.[4] At least 50 firefighters and paramedics attended the accident.[5]
The derailed train was removed from the station on March 27, 2014, three days after the accident.[6] The station reopened on March 30, 2014. The escalator damaged in the crash was replaced by stairs.[7]
The cause of the accident was that the train operator, 25-year-old Brittney Tysheka Haywood,[8] fell asleep at the controls. She lost her job as a result of the crash.[9]
As a direct consequence of the accident, the CTA reduced the speed limit into the O'Hare station from 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). The area of the speed limit was also extended away from the station.[10]