Trucker killed in Illinois train crash

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill., May 13 (UPI) -- A commuter train collided with a dump truck outside Chicago Friday morning, killing the truck driver and derailing the front train car, authorities said.

The Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line train crashed into the truck around 8:40 a.m. in Mount Prospect, Ill., WBBM-TV, Chicago, reported.

At least 29 passengers were taken to hospitals and 10 others were treated at the scene, but none of the injuries seemed life-threatening, officials told the Chicago Tribune.

The five-axle dump truck, carrying concrete, burst into flames and the impact sheared the trailer from the cab.

The driver was a 58-year-old man from Prospect Heights. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office told the Chicago Sun-Times he was pronounced dead at 9:45 a.m. His identity was withheld pending notification of family.

"There was no horn, there was no breaking, there was an explosion," passenger Sarah Flashing told the Tribune. "I have never been in so much shock."

Several passengers said their first thought was a terrorist act in retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden, but Mount Prospect Police Commander John Wagner said, "It just appears to be a driver in a hurry."