According to WGN 9, a 22-year-old NewsNation journalist was killed on July 25 after being hit by a train at Chicago's Hegewisch South Shore station.
The accident happened as Grace Bentkowski was crossing the tracks with other commuters. According to Her father, Phil Bentkowski, told WGN 9 there were no warning sounds before the train struck her, describing the terrifying moment. The impact threw her 50 feet and left her with severe internal injuries, her father explained. He said she was not wearing headphones or using her cell phone when the train struck her.
Grace Bentkowski had recently graduated from Ball State University and was just a few months into her career as a journalist when she was killed by a train while commuting from Chicago to her home in Dyer.https://t.co/fOu3yYoe91
— FOX59 News (@FOX59) August 12, 2024
“We had the kids use the Life360 app (which provides GPS location) and we saw that she got on the train. Then we saw the South Shore website say there was a delay. The next thing they saw was a train-pedestrian accident. We were like, 'Thank goodness it wasn't her,'” Phil told WGN 9. (Related: Police say freight train kills 3, including child)
“I had a bad feeling that she might have been hit, so as soon as I saw her get to the University of Chicago, I jumped in my car and headed over there. I told the Chicago Third District Police Department or the transit police and they asked me, 'Are you related to Grace Bentkowski?'”
“He was told to go to the emergency room, where he was informed that she was still alive. At the same time, Grace's mother and brother arrived at the hospital. After enduring hours of anxious waiting while she was in surgery, the family received the tragic news that their daughter did not survive, WGN 9 reported.
A signal gantry on the railroad tracks and fall foliage can be seen on a cloudy day in Martinez, California, December 2, 2023. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
“At first I was like, 'No way,'” her father said, according to WGN9. “I thought if she got hit by a train leaving the station, obviously it couldn't be that fast and worst case scenario, she could break her leg. It's the worst nightmare ever.”
Grace had come home from work and planned to go shopping before returning to her home in Dyer, Indiana. Prior to her death, Grace was an intern at NewsNation, where she covered local elections in Indiana. Following the accident, South Shore Railroad announced plans to install temporary warning signs and talk to an engineering firm to strengthen pedestrian crossing warnings, the New York Post reported. Reported.
In response to the tragedy, her brother Adian set up a GoFundMe page. support Bentkowski has donated more than $27,000 to help the family with funeral expenses, and the fundraising page describes Bentkowski as a dedicated journalist whose life and career was tragically cut short.
