Crime & Safety

Updated: Lake Forest High School Student Hit by Metra Train Dies

Witnesses saw him run in front of the train at Lake Forest crossing.

 

A 15-year-old student ran in front of a southbound Metra commuter train at 6:56 a.m. this morning (Jan. 9) near the intersection of Western Avenue and Ryan Place in , according to

The student has been identified as Farid Hussain in a statement released by Lake Forest High School District 115.

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At Lake Forest HIgh School, Hussain was in the cast of the Frosh-Soph play of "Our Town" last year as a freshman. He was also a member of the Gamers Club. As an eighth grader at , Hussain qualified for the National French Contest.

"Social workers and counselors met with students in some of Farid’s classes today to provide support," according to a statement. "Additionally, throughout the week the school will have social workers and counselors on call if a child needs to talk to someone about this sad event."

Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The school district noted students are welcome anytime in the social workers office conference room (160J) on the high school's first floor.

Lake Forest High School principal Jay Hoffman sent out an e-mail note to parents Monday afternoon, extending the school's sympathies to the Hussain family.

This morning, a 911 call sent Lake Forest paramedics to the scene and Hussain was still alive en route to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, said Glenn Burmeister, deputy chief of police in Lake Forest.

Police released a statement, but did not identify the Lake Forest teen because he is a juvenile.

Burmeister said witnesses inside a car waiting at the train crossing saw the teen run in front of the train. The crossing gates were down.

"It does not appear he was trying to beat the train," Burmeister said.

Railroad service was delayed for approximately 79 minutes during the investigation and was restored at approximately 8:15 a.m., according to the police statement.

This is the first train fatality in Lake Forest since Feb. 5, 2010 when senior Ju Young "Chris" Lee, a boarding student from South Korea, was hit by an Amtrak train while walking along the tracks with a 19-year-old female companion near Conway Road, about a quarter-mile north of the Telegraph Road Metra station.

On Dec. 10, 2009, a woman was killed after being hit by an Amtrak train at the Telegraph Road station.


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