Federal investigators find gate flaw and crew fatigue in deadly Elgin train crash
New details from federal documents reveal warning devices failed to activate and crew members were fatigued when a Union Pacific locomotive killed a landscaping truck driver at a State Street crossing in Elgin last October.
Federal investigators have uncovered what appears to be a "perfect storm of problems" in the October 2025 crash that killed a landscaping truck driver at a rail crossing in Elgin, new documents show.
The fatal collision occurred at 6:29 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2025, at the State Street crossing just north of Locust Street. A six-axle Union Pacific light locomotive struck a landscaping pickup truck, killing 56-year-old Round Lake Beach resident Martin Martinez Jimenez and seriously injuring his two passengers.
Preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board indicate the crossing's gates and flashing lights were not activated when the truck proceeded onto the crossing. A subsequent Federal Railway Administration safety bulletin added that the driver did not have time to react before the impact.
The FRA said the locomotive's engineer and conductor may not have followed proper operating procedures for short trains. The locomotive was not hauling any railcars when the crash occurred.
"Preliminary information indicates the train crew did not follow required operating rules for traversing highway-rail grade crossings when operating equipment without the minimum number of axles needed to reliably activate grade crossing warning systems," the FRA stated in its bulletin.
Documents released by the NTSB reveal both crew members told investigators they were fatigued before the collision, which occurred near the end of their shift. The crew had started work at 8 p.m. the previous evening, more than 10 hours before the crash.
"I was fighting it. You know, I... I'll admit it," the engineer told investigators. "I was fighting sleep."
The NTSB asked the conductor whether any job briefings took place after the crew learned they would be returning "light power" without cars. The conductor, who described himself as "exhausted," said no.
The engineer described the moments before the crash: "It was starting to wear down on me. We came around up to State Street and we go around a corner going north. So I thought that the gates were down and this guy came out of nowhere, and there it was."
Railway expert and DePaul University Professor Joseph Schwieterman said that when motorists see gates that are not lowered, they naturally assume it is safe to proceed.
"Unfortunately, the truck driver lost his life due to a perfect storm of problems," Schwieterman said.
The FRA explained that grade crossing warning devices can fail for various reasons, including "loss of shunt," meaning the locomotive or railcar wheels do not trip the electrical system that activates the gates and lights. Contributing factors include a low number of axles, contaminants on the rails, or rust causing poor wheel-to-rail connections.
Investigators collected samples of an unidentified coating on the rails near the crash site for analysis. They also reviewed a year of event recorder data for the crossing and identified "multiple instances of short warning times (and) short or aborted warning activations."
The FRA has asked railroads to remind employees of the "critical importance of following operating rules and maintenance plans relating to loss of shunt" and to maintain safeguards such as lowering speeds near crossings.
Union Pacific responded in a statement: "This was a tragic accident, and we extend our deepest sympathies to those impacted. We continue to work with the NTSB on the investigation to make sure we learn from it, ensuring this doesn't happen again. The employees involved met federal work-rest requirements."
The NTSB has not yet issued a final report on the crash.