Grayslake Train Crash: Bicyclist Virginia Girmscheid Remembered After CN Freight Collision Near Lake Street and Hillside Avenue

GRAYSLAKE, Ill. (WLS) — A coworker is remembering a suburban bicyclist killed by a freight train last week as a woman of deep faith and unwavering compassion.

Virginia Girmscheid, 60, was a mother of seven and a dedicated advocate for a nonprofit that supports survivors of human trafficking, with a particular focus on women and children.

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Authorities said Girmscheid was riding her bike Tuesday evening when she was struck and killed by a train at a crossing near Lake Street and Hillside Avenue, close to her Grayslake home.

Friends said Girmscheid had opportunities to earn far more in the private sector, but chose instead to devote her talents to nonprofit work.

They said her passion was with Stepping Stones Network, where she served as chief financial officer and helped manage the organization’s finances.

“She had a very strong faith. She was a light to the rest of us. She was an example to the rest of us,” Stepping Stones Network CEO Suzanne Baker Brown said.

The nonprofit was the first in the country to offer independent living, helping victims gain financial independence, education and jobs.

Girmscheid posed for a picture when they celebrated the opening of the first home for one of their clients a few years ago.

Away from work, she was a wife to her husband of 39 years.

Investigators were on the scene, as the intersection was closed for hours. It was devastating for her family and many friends.

Baker Brown had a long phone conversation with Girmscheid about an hour before she was killed.

“Ginny was the epitome of excellence but every part of her life,” Baker Brown said.

Baker Brown plans to speak at her friend’s funeral service Tuesday.

She says Girmscheid’s financial skills helped guide the network through many challenges, and she will be very difficult to replace. But, they say, just as Girmscheid did, they have faith.

“She always brought a wonderful spiritual strength and spiritual perspective to everything we did, the perspective of wisdom,” Baker Brown said.

A Metra spokesperson says the train involved was a Canadian National freight train. Metra is helping with the investigation and says they have found nothing unusual. They said it appears to be a tragic accident.