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Train hits cars near Chicago; 16 hurt
 Five vehicles were struck by the train and at least eight more were involved in collisions afterward. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSCHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- A train carrying hundreds of Thanksgiving eve rush hour commuters crashed into vehicles at a crossing in suburban Chicago late Wednesday afternoon, injuring at least 16 people, three critically, a spokeswoman for the rail company said. Three of those injured were on the train and the other 13 were in cars, either involved in the initial wreck or in related crashes, said Judy Pardonnet, a spokeswoman for the Metra commuter rail service. The train's engineer said the crossing gate appeared to be working, she said. "We don't know what happened," Pardonnet said. Pardonnet said the Metra express trains carry, on average, 500 passengers during rush hour and the trains travel at average speeds of about 68 mph (109 kph). (Watch as Pardonnet talks about the crash -- 5:27) The engineer, a 30-year railroad veteran, saw an obstruction across the tracks and tried to stop, Pardonnet said, but the maximum speed for a train in that area is 70 mph (113 kph) so the train would have needed at least a quarter mile and to stop. She said investigators would try to determine whether the signals at the crossing were working or whether drivers tried to get around crossing gates. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to the scene Wednesday night. Five cars were struck initially, but at least eight more were involved in collisions afterward, she said. (Watch report on train slamming into cars -- 3:47) "It's amazing from what we saw that no one was killed," said Mary Oddson, who lives in a condominium less than a block away. "We just looked out there and saw those cars just pitched, almost like standing up straight when they were hit." The collision occurred at 4:47 p.m., about 20 minutes after the train left downtown Chicago's Union Station for the northwestern suburb of Antioch, Illinois. The wreck occurred at a crossing in Elmwood Park, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of downtown Chicago. The train, which included an engine and six cars, did not derail. 
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