While the train operator was found to have alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that this was not what caused the Nov. 16, 2023, collision north of the Howard Street CTA station.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the Chicago Transit Authority train was traveling at 26.9 mph on Thursday when it struck the snow-removal equipment, which was on the tracks conducting training for the winter season.

When Deborah Hersman was appointed to chair the National Transportation Safety Board by President Obama she became, at 39, the youngest person to ever fill that position. She recently left her job at the NTSB to head the Chicago-based National Safety Council.