Passengers Rescued After Storms Topple Trees Onto CTA Yellow Line Tracks in Evanston

CHICAGO (WLS) — CTA Yellow Line riders faced a frightening delay late Thursday after storms knocked part of a tree onto the tracks, forcing emergency crews to rescue passengers from the train.

According to the Evanston Fire Department, the incident happened shortly before midnight. Several passengers had to be guided off the train and down a steep embankment to reach safety.

Witnesses said crews used a chainsaw to cut through the wooded area and create a narrow path, since there was no clear way for riders to exit on their own.

“All of a sudden, train stops, half the lights go out. I’m like, ‘Oh, something happened didn’t it?'” passenger Isaih said. “They actually chopped down with a bunch of saws, the actual pathway through the forest and like you said, they had a couple of ropes and we were just instructed to hold the ropes and it was a very steep elevation at that spot and we just took the rope and went all the way down.”

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Service on the Yellow Line was restored Friday morning.

The same round of torrential rain and strong winds caused damage elsewhere in the Chicago area, including in Elmhurst, where a large branch tore away from a tree and came down, partially striking a neighbor’s home.

In St. Charles, a tree fell onto the home of an elderly couple. Firefighters rescued the residents, who are believed to be OK.

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