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Pleasantdale District 107 Mourns Two Elementary Students Killed at Western Springs Rail Crossing
Two elementary school girls from Pleasantdale School District 107 were killed Wednesday when an Amtrak train struck their car at the Wolf Road crossing in Western Springs. The district is providing social workers and therapy dogs as the community grieves.
WESTERN SPRINGS, Ill. â A small suburban school district is grappling with the deaths of two of its youngest students after an Amtrak train struck the car they were riding in at a railroad crossing Wednesday morning.
Pleasantdale School District 107 Superintendent Dave Palzet confirmed Thursday that both children killed at the Wolf Road crossing were elementary school girls who had attended the district since kindergarten. He declined to identify them out of respect for their family.
"There is no class for this in superintendent school and there is no playbook as to how to fully respond to a tragedy like this," Palzet said at a Thursday morning news conference. "We know these kids. We're a very small district, so everybody knows the kids and everyone knows everyone else, and so we are focused on putting the supports in place for the kids and the staff."
According to police, the Amtrak train was carrying 25 passengers when it collided with a 2008 Mitsubishi at the crossing. The driver of the car was taken to a local hospital with critical injuries.
The village said early reports indicate the crossing gates were functioning and in the down position at the time of the crash. A witness told reporters the driver went around the gates and drove onto the tracks.
A makeshift memorial of flowers and candles has formed near the site where the girls died.
Palzet described the children as deeply rooted in the community, with extensive ties to classmates, teachers and other families. "The girls had been in our school since kindergarten," he said. "So lots of connections there. Lots of connections for the girls. Lots of connections for the families."
As difficult as the conversations are, Palzet said the district is letting students take the lead in processing their grief. A team of social workers is on hand to help students work through their feelings, and therapy dogs were at the school Thursday and will return Friday.
"We're helping them process those feelings. We're doing as much one on one as we can," he said.
The village also said social workers and comfort dogs would be available at village hall until 5 p.m. Thursday for residents seeking support.
The crash has shaken a tight-knit community where, as the superintendent put it, everyone knows everyone else â and where two families are now planning funerals instead of school routines.