Grace Bentkowski, who is from Indiana, had just begun her journalism career.
In Chicago, a 22-year-old journalist who had just started her career was hit and killed by an oncoming train.
On July 25, Grace Bentkowskis, 22, was traveling home to Dyer, Indiana, when the tragedy occurred.
When the recent college graduate got to Hegewisch Station, a train came rushing at her and hit her as she crossed the tracks.
Her father, Phil Bentkowski, told WGN that “there is no sound, nothing. On the video, all you hear is a dull thud, then the engineer blows a horn.”
The family told the local news station that a big pillar blocked the path, and Bentokowsi saw another crossing, so she did the same.
Her father said, “My first thought was: ‘That’s not possible.’ I figured if you were to get hit by a train leaving the station, it wouldn’t be going that fast and the worst-case scenario would be maybe a broken leg. It’s the worst nightmare ever.”
Now, the heartbroken father is bringing attention to the matter, calling the lack of oversight a “safety issue.“
He told the local station, “It’s such a safety issue. This is 2024. I don’t know why there are no ‘stop, look, listen’ safety signs. It doesn’t make sense.” “She was thrown 50 feet.”
Bentkowski’s LinkedIn profile stated that she began working as an associate creative producer for NewsNation after graduating from Ball State University in May.
GoFundMe says the 22-year-old is a “striving journalist and the hardest worker.”
“Grace touched many people’s lives at the young age of 22. She was a striving journalist and the hardest worker there is. She managed to make such a big impact at 22 years old, and I wish we could’ve had her here longer,” her brother, Adian Bentkowski, wrote. “Although we lost such a beautiful and caring soul, she is now with all of us.”
Bentkowski lived in Dyer and used the South Shore line there.
The incident is under investigation, according to the transit agency.
