NewsNation Journalist Dead At 22 In Freak Accident

Grace Bentkowski, a creative producer with the cable news outlet NewsNation , died at the age of 22 last month after an accident at a Chicago train station, it was reported this week.

In a statement released Wednesday, NewsNation mourned Bentkowski as a “rising star” at the network.

“Her passion for journalism and eagerness to learn the ropes was infectious and her willingness to jump in and learn the TV news business was inspiring to her colleagues,” read a statement published by Deadline . “Grace was one of those rare people who brought light into any room in which she entered.”

“We are heartbroken for her loved ones and family, and she will never be far from our hearts,” the network said.

Betkowski graduated from Indiana’s Ball State University in May and was hired as an associate creative producer with NewsNation, where she’d previously worked as an intern covering Indiana’s local elections.

The journalist was commuting home to Dyer, Indiana, on July 25 when she was struck by a train while crossing ground-level tracks at Chicago’s Hegewisch South Shore station.

Transit authorities are investigating the death of 22-year-old journalist Grace Bentkowski, who was struck by a train at a Chicago station last month.

She was taken to the nearby University of Chicago Medical Center with internal injuries. She underwent emergency surgery and was pronounced dead hours later.

Her father, Phil Bentkowski, told local news outlet WGN there is not adequate signage or other safety measures at the station, where commuters must walk directly over the tracks to reach the parking lot.

According to accounts from Grace’s family, her view was obstructed by a large concrete pillar as she followed other commuters across the tracks.

“It’s such a safety issue. This is 2024. I don’t know why there are no ‘stop, look, listen’ safety signs. It doesn’t make sense,” Phil Bentkowski said . “She was thrown 50 feet.”

Bentkowski’s death is under investigation by railway operator Metra and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, according to WGN.

“Metra is in touch with NICTD to review the circumstances of this tragic incident,” the rail agency said in a statement, per WGN. “We extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of this young woman.”

In a statement to HuffPost, the NICTD extended its condolences to Bentkowski’s family and friends and said it “firmly” believes the Hegewisch station, “as designed in 2006, is safe.” However, it said it is “installing warning signage” and “reaching out to an engineering firm to determine what it will take to add active warning to the pedestrian crossings.”