Sunday was the 20th anniversary of a train collision with a school bus stuck on tracks in northern Illinois. The incident helped reform train-crossing safety procedures across the country.
A memorial called?“Seven Angels’ Crossing"?still stands at U.S. Route 14 and Algonquin Road in Fox River Grove. It commemorates the seven students from Cary-Grove High School who died in the crash in 1995.?
The substitute bus driver was unfamiliar with the route and was late because of it. She stopped at the intersection behind the train tracks, but moved up when she saw room past the tracks.
The back of the bus was still in the way of an approaching train, which hit the bus.?
Some residents now refer to the intersection as “Eight Angels’ Crossing” after another former Cary-Grove student died trying to beat a train at the same location, eleven years later to the day.