Newly raw footage from a security camera inside the station at O'Hare International Airport shows shows the terrifying moment the eight-car commuter train derailed and crashed into the end of the platform and vaulted up an escalator.
The commuter train, which was traveling at a normal speed of 25 mph before the crash, jumped the tracks Tuesday and went barreling up an escalator.
More than 30 people sustained minor injuries during the accident that took place around 3 a.m.
The union representing the train operator has said fatigue may have played a role in the crash at the nation’s second busiest airport.
The crash happens about 20 seconds into the video below.
More than 30 hurt on derailed train at Chicago airport
At least 32 people were injured, none seriously, when an eight-car train crashed through a barrier at the end of the platform and jumped up an escalator at O'Hare International Airport on Monday, according to Chicago's Transit Authority.
"I heard a boom and when I got off the train, the train was all the way up the escalator. It’s a wreck," Denise Adams, who was riding toward the back of the train, told reporters.
"It was a lot of panic because it was hard to get people off the train."
The train appeared to have been going too fast as it approached the end-of-line station and didn't stop at a bumping post — a metal shock absorber at the end of the tracks.
Fire crews scrambled to determine if anyone was underneath the train but no one was found, according to Chicago Fire Commissioner Joe Santiago. All of the injured were aboard the train and were taken in fair or good condition to four hospitals, he said. The operator of the train "was walking and talking as we were investigating," Santiago said.
The eight-car train was wedged near the top of an escalator used by commuters at the Blue Line terminal. CTA spokesman Brian Steele said workers may have to cut up the car and remove it piece by piece, which could take 12 to 24 hours. Then the damage will have to be assessed and repairs made before trains use the station, he said.
Chicago Transit Authority spokesman Brian Steele told reporters that authorities are trying to piece together what happened, but says the train was likely traveling too fast.
"We will be looking at everything — equipment, signals, the human factor," he said.
The injured were taken to four hospitals and Santiago said most were able to walk away from the wreck unaided.
Service on the Blue Line was still suspended between O'Hare and Rosemont as the morning commute began, according to transit authority alerts. Buses were being used to get passengers to and from the airport.
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