Terrified Mother Watches Train Depart with Baby Stroller Locked in Doors

November 3, 2009 by Cathy Ribble
Filed under: News

A terrified mother in Chicago watched a CTA train leave the station with her baby stroller — and her baby girl — locked in its doors. The stroller and baby were dragged out of the Morse Street station until the train struck a barrier. The incident happened last night about 6:30 p.m.

The baby was tossed out of the stroller about 5 or 10 feet beyond the platform and then landed on the trackbed four feet below.

An unidentified man spotted the infant on the tracks and called out to the mother. The mother then jumped to the trackbed, rescued her daughter and handed her to Joel Weinberg, who was kneeling on the station platform. The toddler is reported to be in stable condition at Children’s Memorial Hospital.

“This child could have been killed. There’s no doubt about that,” Rebecca Weinberg said.

Joel and Rebecca Weinberg said they heard a “primal” scream come from a woman, and they immediately knew something was terribly wrong. Rebecca Weinberg went back to help once she heard the screams.

“Joel and I instantly knew the child was in danger. And when there’s a child in danger, you just have to do something. There’s no standing by.”

“She was running back and forth frantically on the train tracks saying either, ‘The train took my baby,’ or maybe, ‘The train hit my baby,’” Joel Weinberg told reporters.

The train doors are closed manually by the driver who also checks for clearance before the train pulls away from the station. The train doors are also equipped with safety sensors designed to automatically open if something is caught. The incident is under investigation.