ELMWOOD PARK, Ill. (AP) – Officials investigating how a commuter train plowed into several vehicles at a backed-up intersection said Thursday they were looking at whether traffic signals gave vehicles enough time to clear the track.

The crossing gates appeared to be working, but traffic during the Wednesday evening rush hour had cars slowed or stopped on the crossing as the train came barreling through, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said.

“The cars were in a place they shouldn’t have been at the time,” acting NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker said.

Sixteen people complained of injuries after the Metra train crash in the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park, Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said. Rosenker said three people remained hospitalized in stable to serious condition Thursday.

Investigators planned to interview the train’s crew members today, and were investigating human error and other possible causes of the crash.

Christina Rodriguez said she was headed east but stuck in traffic when the crossing gate arms came down, trapping her car and several others. She saw the lights of the commuter train coming and jumped from her car.

“I tried to move (my car), but I couldn’t. Nobody moved,” said Rodriguez, 29.

“Too many tried to get in,” she said.

Chief Michael Marino of the Elmwood Park Fire Department said two people had to be extricated from their cars, including one woman whose car caught fire after she was pulled free. Civilians helped emergency workers rescue others from vehicles scattered near the accident site.

The rail crossing cuts through a busy diagonal intersection that runs into Chicago. A large sign above the tracks reads: “Long crossing. Do not stop on the tracks.”

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On the Net:

Metra: http://www.metrarail.com/

AP-ES-11-24-05 1756EST