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Posted: Friday, 10 July 2009 2:56PM
Suits filed in deadly Rockford train derailment
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ROCKFORD, Ill. (STNG) -- Two lawsuits were filed Friday in relation to a Rockford train derailment that killed one woman and allegedly caused an estimated 55,000 gallons of ethanol to spill into the surrounding soil and water supply last month.
On June 19, an eastbound Canadian National freight train carrying flammable ethanol derailed near the intersection of South Mulford Road and Sandy Hollow Road in Rockford, according to Division Chief Frank Schmitt of the Rockford Fire Department following the incident.
According to a lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, a vehicle waiting at the lowered gate crossing as the train approached contained a family of three, including Jose Tellez, his wife Zoila Tellez and their pregnant daughter Addriana. Zoila Tellez was killed in the incident after the train became engulfed in flames, spreading onto the waiting cars and causing those on the scene to suffer burns.
Jose and Addriana were “severely burned” in the incident, according to the suit filed by the family against Canadian National Railway -- and Addriana suffered a miscarriage due to her injuries.
The suit claims Canadian National could have prevented the wreck, since 20 minutes before the derailment a caller allegedly phoned 911 to report that a portion of the railroad track near the scene was under water.
“The pain and suffering being experienced by the Tellez family is indescribable,” the family’s attorney Robert Bingle said in a statement. “This horrific and tragic occurrence appears to have been avoidable. All Canadian National had to do was stop the train.”
Aside from the suit from the Tellez family, who is being represented by the law firm of Corboy and Demetrio, Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office also filed a suit regarding the incident Friday.
Madigan teamed up with the Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joseph Bruscato and is alleging environmental violations following the June 19 wreck.
The complaint asks that the Court order the Chicago, Central Pacific Railroad to take immediate cleanup action and submit reports of their progress to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Madigan’s six-count suit claims that the 114-car train released 55,000 to 75,000 gallons of ethanol into the surrounding soil and a creek nearby, potentially contaminating groundwater and surface water.
“It is imperative that we take quick action to assess the environmental damage from this dangerous derailment and put an immediate cleanup plan in place,” Madigan said in a statement. “We are working to ensure that all possible steps are taken to protect the residents of this area and the environment.”
The suit details a plan that orders the CCP to submit groundwater samples and soil samples to the IEPA, and also orders they conduct a survey of private wells and water supplies within a one-mile radius of the derailment site.
The suit filed by the Tellez family asks for an unstated amount of money in damages.
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