After the death of a journalist at Chicago train station, family campaigns for greater safety in rail transport

At the age of twelve, Grace Bentkowski already knew that she wanted to become a journalist and live in a big city one day.

Bentkowski, 22, had only started her career as a creative producer at NewsNation Downtown a few months ago and was about to sign a lease on an apartment in Chicago when she was struck and killed by a train on July 25 while on her way home to Dyer, Indiana.

She had just gotten off the train at Hegewisch South Shore station and was on her way to the parking lot when she was hit by another train leaving the platform.

Bentkowski’s uncle and godfather, Michael O’Neill, said her parents knew something was wrong when they checked the GPS location on their phone and saw the car was heading toward the University of Chicago Medical Center.

“They jumped in their car and drove there,” O’Neill said. “When they got there, her father got a call from a police officer telling them she had been hit and needed immediate surgery. The doctors said her injuries were severe and she had suffered a lot of internal injuries and didn’t make it.”

O’Neill said he and Bentkowski’s father were shown a video of the incident and were shocked to see that the train that hit them did not blow its whistle until it had already started moving.

“I watched the video and the conductor didn’t honk until he saw her ahead,” O’Neill said. “But by then it was too late. Our biggest complaint and concern for everyone is that if there had been some kind of light or alarm to signal that a train was going to go through the pedestrian crossing, this would never have happened to Grace.”

Bentkowski graduated from Ball State University in May. O’Neill said she was a hard worker and completed several internships before graduating.

“She was excited to move to Chicago, be close to her family, live in a big city and work at a national news station,” O’Neill said. “She never grew very tall, so we always joked that she had to stack books under her seat when she was at the news desk. She was a bundle of energy and just loved being part of what was happening in the world.”

“She was truly something special.”

O’Neill says the family is concerned about the lack of communication from South Shore Line. They have hired attorneys to investigate the incidents.

“It doesn’t quite sink in yet,” he said. “We’re going to keep fighting so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. That’s what Grace would have hoped for. We’re doing it for her. This is devastating and we’ll never get over it, but we have to figure out how to live with it.”

The South Shore Line could not be reached for comment.

In a statement sent to WGN9, the South Shore Line said it will install temporary warning signs and is “contacting an engineering firm to determine what is needed to add active warning signs to the pedestrian crossings.”

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with expenses.