Thanksgiving Crash In Chicago
Commuter Train Plows Into Cars During Holiday Travel Rush, 16 Hurt
-
Play CBS Video Video Chicago Train Accident Federal officials are investigating a commuter train accident outside of Chicago. At least 16 people were injured when the speeding train slammed into several cars that were stuck on the tracks.
-
Video Travel Troubles Although the day got off to a rocky start, many of the nation's travelers found that it wasn't as bad as they expected it would be. Sharyn Alfonsi reports.
-
Video Train Collides With Vehicles CBS News RAW: A METRA commuter train has crashed into several vehicles in a Chicago suburb. There are no reports yet on the cause of the crash or whether there are injuries.
-
-
Holiday travelers wait for trains at Penn Station, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005, in New York. (AP)
-
Travelers inch closer to the security check point at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport November 23, 2005 in Arlington, Virginia. (Getty Images/Mark Wilson)
-
Passengers wind through an airport security checkpoint Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. (AP)
-
A spokesman for Metra, a commuter line for northeast Illinois, said a train heading from downtown Chicago to Antioch, near the Wisconsin border, struck several vehicles. (CBS)
-
Firemen stand-by as a passenger train makes its way past vehicles struck by another commuter train during the holiday rush hour in Elmwood Park, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005. Officials report 16 people were injured, three critically. (AP)
-
-
Interactive Travel Resources Get ready for your next trip: See if your flight is on time, how much gas will cost, get travel tips and more.
-
News Tools U.S. Airport Tracker Up-to-the-minute reports on delays and closures.
-
Section America Gives Thanks Recipes, how to carve a turkey, an interactive map of events and more good stuff to gobble up.
The Air Transport Association predicted 21.7 million people would fly on U.S. airlines from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29, slightly more than last year's record number.
AAA said more than 37 million people would travel by car at least 50 miles from home during the long holiday weekend. The association, citing a telephone survey, said the number of Thanksgiving travelers would be up 0.8 percent from last year.
"I'm glad gas is not $3 anymore," Kate Kehoe said as she filled her tank in Ann Arbor, Mich., for a trip of about 55 miles to Flint.
Kehoe was not worried about the snow that was falling across the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. The snow also caused no problems at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, which expected nearly 2 million passengers during the holiday weekend.
Alfonsi reports that the relative calm of this record-breaking travel day didn't start that way. On I-95, outside Washington, D.C., a tanker truck exploded, turning one of the busiest roads, on the busiest travel day into a parking lot.
The Maryland State Highway Administration says the final two southbound lanes at the scene of the tanker truck explosion re-opened around 1:30.
The trouble began around 4:30 this morning, when the rig with nearly nine-thousand gallons of gas caught fire. Boyor Chew, who was behind the wheel, says he realized a back wheel was on fire, but no one would let him move over to the right. When he finally made it to the shoulder, he ran for it before the compartments blew up one at a time.
But numerous traffic accidents were blamed on the snow in Indiana. No serious injuries were reported.
"It doesn't matter if you have a half-inch of snow, people can slide on it, the first snow of the year," said forecaster Bill Simpson in Taunton, Mass.
Fog was the culprit in Idaho, stranding travelers in Boise.
Elsewhere in the West, "it's just beautiful traveling weather," Nancy Daniels said during a break at a truck stop in Sterling, Colo., as she and her family drove to Minnesota for "a big ol' family reunion."
©MMV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
