The Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line operator who fell asleep behind the controls when a train crashed into an escalator at O'Hare International Airport last month has been fired.
A CTA spokesperson confirmed that the conductor, whose identity has not been released, was dismissed after admitting that she'd dozed off while operating the train.
President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 Robert Kelly wasn't available for comment when reached by the Chicago Tribune on Friday.
32 people were hurt in the March 24 accident and none of the injuries were serious. There were no deaths.
The train veered off the rails and hit a bank of escalators leading to the airport's terminals at about 2:52 a.m.
National Transportation and Safety Board investigator Ted Turpin told CNN two days after the crash that two backup systems should have come to the train's aid, but did not.
The driver, a CTA employee for just two months, reportedly awoke with a start to see the lead car crash into stairs and escalators by the end of the track.
Turpin said an emergency braking mechanism that should have stopped the eight-car train immediately didn't deploy properly.
This wasn't the first time the train conductor had fallen asleep at the controls. She also admitted to overshooting a station in the past.
Turpin acknowledged that the woman was "very forthcoming" in her acknowledgment of responsibility for the incident during initial questioning.
"She dozed off prior to entering the station," Turpin told CNN. "She did not awake again until the train hit close to the end of the bumper."
But the train was wired to stop on its own, should the driver lose control of steering and acceleration.
"There is an electrical brake, and there's a disc brake system on the train, and there's a third track brake," Turpin continued.
Although the trip arm did engage, it didn't stop the train in time.
Video footage captured Monday's derailment - the YouTube spot shows the train entering the Chicago airport's station, then slamming into the escalators.
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