Eyewitness account of Loyola CTA platform suicide
Further update: Brian, who originally shared this story with us, emailed me to say that Chicago Police have indeed classified this death as a suicide. So sad. Brian's account is below:
A CTA Tattler reader posted a comment here last night with an eyewitness account of the suicide at the Loyola Red Line stop that stopped train traffic for almost an hour last night. Thanks to Brian for reporting the somewhat gruesome details:
Unfortunately, this story has already been seen on news stations... and reported incorrectly until later tonight.
A lady just jumped. I was standing merely 50 feet from her. The whole thing was surreal, and as of this moment, I don't know if I still fully comprehend what I saw.
I was walking up the escalator to the southbound platform at the Loyola el-stop as I had done hundreds of times before. Class was out at the University and myself and two friends were discussing a recent study/brainstorming session.
Thankfully, we had made it to the platform just as the Red Line was coming down the tracks. I remember my friend exclaiming, "Good, just in time." I begin walking down the platform. I look up to see a woman, probably 40 or 50 years old jump to the tracks from the platform.
She falls to her stomach and is immediately struck by the train.
She rolled at first, shot forward by the wheel protectors. And for a split second I thought she might live through her suicide attempt.
But then, eventually, despite the best efforts of the train operator she was taken under and run over by the trains wheels.
The train operator was badly shaken when she exited the train, and people in the area tried to console her. The only thing anybody could think was the words that the operator kept screaming amidst her sobs, "She just jumped!"
The vision that will stick with me about this event will not be the badly mangled body that I futilely jumped down to the tracks to try and help.
Instead, it will be the look on the woman's face as she first rolled along the tracks. The split second between when she was hit and when she was severed in half by the trains wheels.
She had an expression on her face -- it was almost tranquil. She was resigned to her fate and was very much ready to leave this world.
Her suicide was both gruesome and disturbing, however, if you would have guessed by the expression on her face, she seemed least affected by it. In fact, she never made a single noise during her last moments on earth. It was almost as if she had done this sort of thing before.
I only hope that this is the last time I see something such as this. I think the most frustrating part for those in the vicinity was the fact that it happened so fast, nothing could have been done to help until it was too late.
Thank you so much for posting your account!
I'd just gotten off work and was on the Northbound platform. I looked north at just the wrong time and saw the woman going under the train. The cops and firemen didn't come up to our platform to tell us what happened. I just sorta stood struck dumb watching them arrive and look under the train. When they put a chain down over the third rail it clicked with me that they were grounding it and that traffic wasn't going to be moving for quite a while. I could see my train waiting just off the platform, if it had been a minute later I'd have been gone. I just went down, found a bus that went to Howard (not sure which run, was one of those accordian busses), and went home. There hasn't been anything in the news, I had no idea what happened or what to think. I got here from a link from Mimi Smartypants' blog.
Someone in the comments asked when this happened. I only work a block from the station and get out at 5 PM, so I know it was the train that stops at Loyola at 5:09.
As for Chicago and the CTA -- well, I still love the city and still ride the Red Line to work, but it was a
Posted by: a commuter | March 06, 2005 at 11:41 AM
rough couple days to keep commuting.
Posted by: a commuter | March 06, 2005 at 11:47 AM
I remember when I lived and worked in Chicago in the early 80's. My office was on the 36th floor of the John Hancock Building. I was standing there, talking to my boss and this "thing" flew downward past the window, making odd bumping sounds as it fell.
At lunchtime, I headed over the Water Tower Place and there on the sidewalk was a police barrier and LOTS of blood stains.
Seems some poor fella decided to jump from one of the top floors of the Hancock Center. He hit so hard, he cracked the concrete.
That was extrement upsetting. Guess when he broke out the window from that high up, the vacuum effect just sucked him right out of the building. Even if he changed his mind, it was too late.
Yuk.
Posted by: Julie | March 07, 2005 at 03:04 PM
Suicide isn't a selfish act. Nor is it a cry for help. Never blame somebody, it's always everybodys fault. Somebody pushed somebody to not feel good enough for life. Maybe it wasn't you, but it was somebody. Look for things, adapations to people, if somebody has a problem, and turns to one person, you may be their only source.
I've lost 4 people to suicide in my short life of 14 years. It can happen to anybody.
Posted by: Maudie | April 27, 2005 at 09:33 AM
Hi,
I know this poor lady who killed herself, my kids play with her kids. I have known her for almost 20 years. She had been a long time member of a religious group that is unhealthy, to say the least! That group is called the University Bible Fellowship(ubf).
In fact, another member of the ubf group who had attended Loyola for a short time committed suicide in 2000 or 2001. This group is trying to fly under the radar of cult watchers, but the word about them is being spread more and more.
FYI, at the ubf they officialy explain away the lady's death as an accident. They also disrespect her by saying that she had mental illness for many years, so "they should never have allowed her to marry." The ubf is similar to the Moon cult in that all marriages are arranged personally by the leaders. Usually the marriages are arranged without any thought of love, happiness or compatibility. The lady who committed suicide at Loyola was married to a total stranger, and obviously felt trapped in a loveless marriage and a hopeless future in a cult group.
For further information, do a google search for "ubf cult" and you will find plenty of information and testimonies that expose this brutal cult group. And if you are a Loyola student, you may want to bring this incident to the attention fo the Dean, that this group may be prohibitied from recruiting on your campus.
Posted by: nick | May 25, 2005 at 09:59 AM
I know all about UBF at Loyola. I told the Dean, and nobody seemed to care.
I was stalked by a member in 2002, Loyola didn't want to know about it. I don't know if they're still fishing on campus, but they were recognized by Loyola as a bona fide campus club.
Posted by: Jennifer | May 25, 2005 at 10:34 AM
I was hit by a train and the RR didnt even report my acc.they were called 3 weeks straight and sent a report by local police with photos and never once returned the calls requesting assistance,When I got the report and photos and the info the RR knew abt my acc. all along,I went there again in person with the same info they were given by local police and i was told"you should feel lucky to be alive because when people are hit at that crossing they dont live"So I asked with my son present with me ,what if I had been killed? the amswer I recieved was unbelievable coming from the same guy who lied to me for over a year."WE would have classified you a suicide"630-993-0159 I need reconstuctive surgeries and the RR which I begged for help said we will give you $1,000 dollars as our way of saying we are sorry,you must see the photos to know how terrible a person looks after being hit sadly the 16 yr. old little girl 1 month prior didnt live and many more.
Posted by: robert hoseman | December 12, 2005 at 02:36 PM
What a selfish bitch. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but if she chooses to end her life in front of a train during rush hour, what else can we call her? If you want to off yourself, hey-thats your right. But do it in the privacy of your own home instead of being an attention whore to the very end. Hope God has mercy on her soul.
Posted by: HH | February 13, 2007 at 05:00 PM
I do feel sorry for the lady to feel like you're in that much pain that you have to harm yourself is unimaginable. For years I've delt with suicidal friends, cutters, and girls who go missing from time to time. I've had my share of times where they've scared the shit out of me, but they've never gone through with it besides a few cases of splitting their wrists. However, I feel that if you're going to commit suicide, do it on your own. Now you've involved innocent people in what you've done and people will never forget the sights they've seen. The other person is right, suicide is selfish. If the rest of us have to mush on w/ all of our problems so should they.
Posted by: Tashianna B | August 31, 2011 at 02:18 AM