BARRINGTON, Ill. — A wrongful death lawsuit alleges negligence on behalf of two of the region’s railroad transit companies following the January 2024 death of a suburban teenager fatally struck by a train while on her way to school.
Partners at Clifford Law Offices, on behalf of Marin Lacson’s family, said Wednesday that the 17-year-old’s death was “entirely preventable.”
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The 34-page complaint alleges negligence against the Union Pacific Railroad Company, Metra Railroad and the Village of Barrington for failing to warn and protect pedestrians at the Hough Street railroad crossing.
Attorneys cited at least two prior occasions when trains struck pedestrians. WGN News reported that Lacson’s death marked the third fatal accident at the crossing since Metra began its service in 1984.
Marin Lacson died on Thursday, Jan. 25, after being struck by a Metra train while on her way to school. Investigators said she stopped for one train but was then hit by another train heading in the opposite direction. Lacson reportedly crossed the tracks at Route 59 and Main Street in downtown Barrington.
According to the complaint, the lack of safety measures, notably the absence of safety warnings and horns in what lawyers called a ‘Quiet Zone,’ and reduced visibility on the day of the crash factored into the fatal collision.
Some business owners who spoke with WGN News in the aftermath suggested that fog may have contributed to the tragedy, describing the weather as difficult to navigate.
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“Marin merely attempted to cross over the sidewalk on her way to school after the first train passed through the crossing. Without any warnings to alert her that an inbound train was coming from the opposite direction and without notice that this inbound track was what is sometimes called a ‘hot rail,’ Marin was unaware there was a second train approaching,” said James Pullos, an attorney with the Clifford Law Offices. “Instead of showing urgency for the community safety, no action was ever taken to address the long-standing safety concerns at this crossing.”
Marin, 17, was a junior at Barrington High School when she died. Her friend, Ellie Ewalt, told WGN News that Marin had a “very bubbly, happy personality.”
“She was never not smiling.”
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