Current:Home > NewsA college student fell asleep on the train. She woke up hours later trapped inside. -FinanceMind
A college student fell asleep on the train. She woke up hours later trapped inside.
View
Date:2025-04-19 14:01:56
Amtrak said it would apologize to a college student who was trapped on an empty Chicago-bound train after she fell asleep on the ride.
Aria Lockhart, a Southern Illinois University student, told WGN-TV she boarded the train in Carbondale, an Illinois college town around 330 miles from Chicago, at around 3 a.m. on Sunday.
"I fell asleep because it’s 3 o’clock in the morning, I was pretty tired," she told the local news station.
More than four hours later, she said she awoke to find her car completely empty. She filmed the eerie scene on her cell phone camera as she walked from car to car, finding no one.
More:Amtrak's new Airo trains debuting in 2026 will be faster, more sustainable
Lockhart's mother, Victoria Jackson, told the outlet that she called Amtrak customer service as she waited for her daughter at Chicago's Union Station, but she received little guidance about how her daughter could escape.
Jackson said company representatives said her daughter was "already in the yard and the train isn’t due until tomorrow."
Amtrak told USA TODAY in an email that customer representatives had contacted Lockhart and Jackson by phone after the train was brought to the railyard for servicing. The company said it would reach out to Lockhart with an apology and to learn more about what happened.
Although her daughter was finally freed, Jackson said she was unhappy with how long it took. "“If anyone was trapped on the train that would be some type of urgency and I didn’t see that,” she told reporters.
USA TODAY's attempts to reach Lockhart and her mother on Monday were unsuccessful.
veryGood! (967)
Related
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- 'All Quiet' wins 7 BAFTAs, including best film, at U.K. film awards ceremony
- 5 takeaways from the Oscar nominations
- How Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panthers changed the civil rights movement
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his musical alter ego
- No lie: Natasha Lyonne is unforgettable in 'Poker Face'
- Richard Belzer, stand-up comic and TV detective, dies at 78
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Jimmy Kimmel celebrates 20 years as a (reluctant) late night TV institution
Ranking
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Curls and courage with Michaela Angela Davis and Rep. Cori Bush
- 'Sam,' the latest novel from Allegra Goodman, is small, but not simple
- Reneé Rapp wants to burn out by 30 — and it's all going perfectly to plan
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Phil McGraw, America's TV shrink, plans to end 'Dr. Phil' after 21 seasons
- Pamela Anderson on her new memoir — and why being underestimated is a secret weapon
- Nick Kroll on rejected characters and getting Mel Brooks to laugh
Recommendation
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Look out, Nets rivals! Octogenarian Mr. Whammy is coming for you
N.Y. Philharmonic chief looks to Gustavo 'Dudamel era' after historic appointment
Queen of salsa Celia Cruz will be the first Afro Latina to appear on a U.S. quarter
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
Before 'Hrs and Hrs,' Muni Long spent years and years working for others
'Hijab Butch Blues' challenges stereotypes and upholds activist self-care
This tender Irish drama proves the quietest films can have the most to say