A female bicyclist was struck and killed by a CN freight train in Grayslake just after 8 p.m. Tuesday night, setting off a police investigation at the Lake and Hillside crossing and leaving the scene closed for hours before it reopened Wednesday morning. Metra said the incident did not affect its commuters.

Police were seen inspecting the tracks Wednesday morning where the bicyclist was hit, a sign that the inquiry is still focused on how the fatal collision happened. Metra Police are handling the investigation, but the immediate question for riders was already answered: no Metra service was disrupted.

Neighbors who live near the crossing said the crossing is familiar and usually loud with warnings. Ron Beckman said he has lived there for 20 years and cannot recall anything like this happening, while Gabby Miniscalo said she walks her dogs near the crossing almost every day and called the crash terrifying.

Miniscalo said the gate arms come down well in advance and that there is usually still a horn even though a sign says no train horn, which is why some nearby residents said they do not believe the arm or tracks failed. Beckman said the crossing has the gates, the warning bell and all the usual signals, and he said there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered.

That leaves the central gap in the case untouched: how the bicyclist ended up in the path of the CN train, and whether she was crossing legally or encountered any warning failure. For now, the scene is open again and Metra riders are moving as usual, but the death has turned an ordinary crossing into the focus of a fatal inquiry.