Signal failure snarls Metra
Extensive delays on three Metra lines were expected to persist through the night Wednesday after signal problems prevented any trains from entering or leaving Union Station during the Wednesday evening commute.
Trains on the BNSF Railway, Southwest Service and Heritage Corridor lines were stopped in and outside Union about 5 p.m., according to the transit agency.
By about 6:30 p.m., the signal failure — which Metra said stemmed from Amtrak signal issues — was fixed, Metra said. Sun-Times Wire
Body found in garage
A person was found dead in a garbage bag inside the garage of a Chatham neighborhood home Wednesday afternoon on the South Side.
About 3 p.m., officers were called to a report of a dead body in the 500 block of East 92nd Street, according to Chicago Police.
The person, whose age and gender were unknown, was dead at the scene. Area South detectives are conducting a death investigation. Mitchell Armentrout
Man charged in hit-run death of 98-year-old man
A Northwest Side man has been charged with driving away after an SUV struck a 98-year-old man near a southwest suburban gas station in May, leading to the man’s death two months later.
Richard Lulik, 51, faces one felony count of failure to stop after an accident involving injury or death for the crash that happened May 10 near the Citgo at 7455 W. Archer Ave. in Summit, according to Summit police.
Esteban Barraza, of the 7400 block of West 55th Place in Summit, died July 14 after being struck by a vehicle. His death was ruled an accident.
Police released surveillance photos earlier this month of the suspected driver and Ford Explorer involved in the accident. Multiple people called police identifying Lulik as the driver, and he turned himself in, police said.
Lulik, of the 4700 block of North Knox in Chicago, was ordered held on a $500,000 bond at a Wednesday hearing, according to Cook County Circuit Court records.
Mitchell Armentrout
5 vehicles stolen, 30 burglarized in Naperville
A 15-year-old boy was arrested early Tuesday after five vehicles were stolen and 30 others burglarized in west suburban Naperville.
About 5 a.m., officers were investigating several stolen vehicles and vehicle burglaries in the Hobson West, West Highlands, Olympic Terrace and Maplebrook subdivisions, according to a statement from Naperville police.
While checking the area, officers found one of the stolen vehicles at Washington Street and Tamarack Drive, police said. The suspect inside the vehicle tried to run but was caught a few minutes later.
The suspect, a 15-year-old boy from the 1200 block of Euclid Avenue in Chicago, was charged with burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, obstructing identification and resisting arrest, police said. His name was not released because he is a juvenile.
A total of five vehicles had been stolen, including the one recovered, police said. Thirty other vehicles had been burglarized, and a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Chicago was also found nearby.
The majority of the vehicles that were stolen and burglarized were unlocked, police said. The stolen vehicles all had the keys inside.
Jordan Owen
Boy, 2, dies after being struck by vehicle
A 2-year-old boy died four days after he ran into the street in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood and was struck by a vehicle.
Xavier Bahena ran out of a restaurant and into the street in the 4500 block of South Ashland about 4:15 p.m. Friday and was struck by a vehicle, according to Chicago Police.
Xavier, who lived a few blocks away in the 1800 block of West 47th Street, died at Stroger Hospital at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The driver remained at the scene and was issued traffic citations, but no charges have been filed, police said.
The state Department of Children and Family Services is investigating.
Jordan Owen