Tinley Park Man Found Injured on Embankment Near Train Tracks in Lemont

A Tinley Park man was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center Wednesday, after having fallen 25 feet down a embankment near train tracks in Lemont.

The man was found around 5 p.m. Wednesday, almost a day after his wife had reported him missing, said to have gone looking for a cell phone lost near the tracks. Lemont Police Officer Brian Schmitz located the man's car near Main and Stephen Street Wednesday, and began walking the tracks to search for him. Schmitz spotted the man several feet down an embankment near Fourth Street and Wheeler Drive, where he laid unconscious with some movement in his fingers. 

"We don't think he was hit by a train," said Lemont Police Commander Greg Smith. "We think he just fell." 

Schmitz called paramedics to the scene, and the man was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center. His current condition is unknown, Smith said, but the officer's search effort and quick thinking saved the man's life. 

"Excellent job by Officer Schmitz," Smith said. "If he hadn't spotted him, he would have died."

Police were withholding the man's identity until receiving confirmation from family. 

Original story, 6:30 p.m.

Lemont firefighters are on the scene where a man has been found injured near train tracks in Lemont.

The man was discovered around 5 p.m. near the tracks north of Fourth Street, said Lemont Fire Chief George Rimbo.

The man, whose identity is currently unknown, was being airlifted to Loyola University Hospital around 6:20 p.m., said Lemont Fire Chief George Rimbo. Train traffic was stopped and vehicle traffic was being diverted as crews tended to the scene. 

The man's condition is unknown. The circumstances of the incident are unclear at this time, Shaughnessy said. 

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