Railroad Crossing Crash Litigation Settles for Over $25 Million 

A global settlement of over $25 million was secured  for high-school students killed and injured when a Metra train crashed into a school bus at a grade crossing of railroad tracks in a suburban area outside of Chicago. Attorney Thomas Demetrio, who has extensive experience representing victims of train crashes, served as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the litigation.

The settlement arises out of a train and bus collision in Fox River Grove, Illinois, on October 25, 1995. In the early morning, a Crystal Lake school district bus was heading in a southeasterly direction on Algonquin Road. The bus proceeded onto the Union Pacific railroad track and was hit by a Metra train.

Five defendants, Union Pacific Railroad, Gannett Fleming, Aldridge Electric, Contracting & Material, and the Illinois Department of Transportation, contributed to the settlements.