I saw this story on MSNBC out of Wisconsin.
Is the grade crossing all that shabby? How does an SUV manage to get “stuck” on the tracks?
The article’s not really clear on that. Traffic could have backed up or the engine could have died. From the photo it looks like the engine bay took the worst of it.
the story i heard was they got caught in traffic and stopped on tracks ( real smart) then train came everyone ran to get them free of van. then went back to get child out of van when got hit.
Now the reality check questions and answers
- there is a car in front of me blocking the way and i dont want to be in a wreck
Ans) Stand on the gas the heck with the front end damage, Most insurance companies would rather pay for a minor accident than the big one your going to have if you sit there and yes probley death to.
- Husband behind you and your car is stalled he knows this what should he do.
Ans) get behind your car with his and push it out of the way this will work everytime and problem solved (unless your wanting a divorce and she is heavily insured with life insurance). with minor damage.
I have hit cars at 50 mph and at 25 mph and the look of the damages is not much differance it just takes longer to stop at 50mph. the amount of damage done if the loco hits is hard to describe but a scuffed bumper maybe a small dent and your life is what you get out of you making your way off the tracks. Hey heres a no brainer dont stop on tracks.
What a brave man, Police Officer John Krahn. A hero indeed.
Yes, the police officer is indeed brave and should receive at least a commendation…and the father of the child is also brave and exhibited the appropriate paternal instincts. This should be a BIG lesson to all drivers, whether they be soccer Moms or anybody else, that being “EXPECT A TRAIN ON ANY TRACK, IN ANY DIRECTION, AT ANY TIME!”
Trains? They run trains on these tracks?
Unless, of course, you are talking on the cell phone, putting on makeup, changing the kid’s DVD, reading a map, eating, texting, yelling at your kids, etc…
Not to mention that some people’s response to a situation like that is to simply freeze.
There’s a crossing on the NS main line in Duncan, SC that has a stop sign not more than a car length from the tracks. Sometimes you have to wonder who designs these things.
Yes. I don’t think there are a whole lot of folks in this world who would have stayed in there like that. He allowed himself to get hit by a train in an effort to save an innocent child’s life. There aren’t a whole lot like him. We could use a few more.
Yea right the truth is if he would have got killed you would all be giving him nominations for the darwin awards. but i see idiots everyday stopping on the tracks running around gates , risking their lifes for nothing more than saving a minute .
Not true at all.
The “freezing” happens after they have done all of the other activities which got them into the situation in the first place.
Actually there is quite a range between the moron trying to save a few minutes by going around the gates, and the person who is risking their lives to save and protect another.
The first gets the Darwin Award, the second gets the Humanitarian Award.
Quite a range indeed.
Wis. train crash investigation could take months
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER
Associated Press Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Police said Tuesday it could take months to finish investigating a freight train and minivan crash that injured an Elm Grove police officer and another man.
A 94-car train slammed into a minivan stuck on railroad tracks Monday morning in suburban Milwaukee, where people were waiting for a Memorial Day parade to begin.
The woman driving the minivan, Monica Ensley-Partenfelder, got caught on the tracks with cars behind and ahead of her as the gates came down and alarms sounded. Ensley-Partenfelder, 40, of West Allis, tried to get out of the train’s way, but the van’s tire got lodged in a portion of the tracks, said Assistant Chief Gus Moulas, of the Elm Grove police department.
Her 47-year-old husband, Scott Partenfelder, who was in a nearby car, ran to help as did Elm Grove police officer John Krahn.
Krahn, 41, got the woman out, and he and the husband attempted to get the Partenfelders’ 2-year-
Sounds almost like she found herself boxed in and tried making a U-turn to get off the tracks.
There is a clip from the show Rescue 911 that I found a while back on YouTube where a woman’s car stalled on a crossing in South Carolina(?). She got out to ask the police officer behind her for help, and the crossing signals came on. She got back in the car, and the officer tried to get her to abandon the car only to discover that she was trying to get her son out of the car seat. The officer then got in front of the car, managing to get it off the tracks just before the train went past. He said that when the train went past, he could feel it brushing the back of his uniform.
I’ll post a link when I get home if I can find it.
Kevin
[quote user=“zardoz”]
Wis. train crash investigation could take months
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER
Associated Press Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Police said Tuesday it could take months to finish investigating a freight train and minivan crash that injured an Elm Grove police officer and another man.
A 94-car train slammed into a minivan stuck on railroad tracks Monday morning in suburban Milwaukee, where people were waiting for a Memorial Day parade to begin.
The woman driving the minivan, Monica Ensley-Partenfelder, got caught on the tracks with cars behind and ahead of her as the gates came down and alarms sounded. Ensley-Partenfelder, 40, of West Allis, tried to get out of the train’s way, but the van’s tire got lodged in a portion of the tracks, said Assistant Chief Gus Moulas, of the Elm Grove police department.
Her 47-year-old husband, Scott Partenfelder, who was in a nearby car, ran to help as did Elm Grove police officer John Krahn.
Krahn, 41, got the woman out, and he and the husband attempted to get the Partenfelders’ 2-year-old son out of his child seat in the back, Moulas said. But the train hit the van as Krahn was
Where’s GraniteRailroader’s avatar when we need it…[:D] but for the love of god! if the car stalled why didn’t the husband just shover her out of the freekin way! But then I got to thinking, Wait she got caut in traffic. he would have caused a pile up. So why not hurry up and get the kids out beore the train comes? maby I’m missing some thing here. it sounds lie the lady tried to get her car re-started before getting the kids out.[%-)]
Maby she was trying to hi-rail her truck mini van?