Woman killed when Metra train strikes SUV in Arlington Heights

A Rolling Meadows woman was killed when she drove around crossing gates Thursday afternoon and her SUV was struck by a Metra train on the Union Pacific/Northwest Line in northwest suburban Arlington Heights.

Inbound train No. 646, scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 3:23 p.m., struck the 2009 Honda Element about 2:30 p.m. at Euclid Avenue near the Arlington Heights Station, authorities said.

Zaiemunnisa Khan, 61, was driving southeast on Northwest Highway, made a right turn westbound onto Euclid and drove around the railroad gates that were down with warning lights activated, according to Arlington Heights police.

The train then struck the SUV, causing it to catch fire, police said. The train pushed the fiery vehicle about 1000 feet east of Euclid, finally coming to rest near Northwest Highway and Ridge Avenue.

Khan, of the 100 block of College Crossing in Rolling Meadows, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:14 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

She was the only occupant of the SUV and no one on the train was injured, said Arlington Heights Police Deputy Chief Miguel Hernandez.

Police said the crossing gates at Northwest Highway and Euclid were in “good working order” at the time of the crash.

All inbound and outbound trains were temporarily halted in the area, Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said. As of 5 p.m., all tracks had been reopened, but both inbound and outbound trains were running up to 60 minutes behind schedule.

Passengers on train No. 646 were accommodated by train No. 648, which was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 4:23 p.m., but was operating up to 70 minutes late.