Four people dead after SUV slams into freight train in Chicago

Four people died after an SUV hit a freight train and caught fire in suburban Chicago Wednesday.

The vehicle made contact with a moving CSX Transportation train at about 2 a.m. at a crossing in Harvey, a south Chicago suburb, The Associated Press reported. The four people who died were all in the SUV, Harvey city spokesman Jason Baumann told the AP. 

Baumann said the coroner would soon identify the bodies of the deceased, which had been removed from the SUV, according to the AP.

He added that it wasn’t immediately evident if the train stopped following the crash, but that when he arrived at the scene at about 4 a.m., the train was no longer at the crossing and workers were replacing the crossing gates.

CSX said in a statement obtained by the AP that the SUV struck the last rail car of the moving train, which consisted of 47 rail cars.

“There were no injuries to the train crew. CSX extends its deepest sympathies to everyone impacted by this tragic incident, and we will work to support local law enforcement as they investigate,” the statement said.