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Train strikes car, no injuries

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This 1999 Honda Civic, driven by Kathryn Banasik, 65, La Crosse, was only minimally damaged after being clipped by a moving Burlington Northern Santa Fe train Wednesday evening, Jan. 21, in Prairie du Chien.

By Correne Martin

A La Crosse driver and her passenger safely escaped her vehicle before it was struck by a train in Prairie du Chien Wednesday evening, Jan. 21, according to the Prairie du Chien Police Department.

At 5:37 p.m., Officer Tony Berg responded to the East Blackhawk Avenue intersection with the railroad tracks to find a 1999 Honda Civic that had been struck by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train. The driver, Kathryn Banasik, 65, and her male passenger had exited the vehicle prior to the collision.

According to the Prairie du Chien Police Department, Banasik was driving eastbound on Blackhawk Avenue when she realized she was operating her car without headlights. She attempted to pull to the side of the roadway to turn on the lights but mistakenly drove off the road’s surface onto the tracks. A northbound BNSF train then hit the vehicle, causing minimal damage to the driver’s side front end.

Banasik and her passenger were not injured in the incident. Neither was witness Tom Halpin, owner of nearby Halpin Tire, or any of his employees.

“This could have been a much more serious situation,” Halpin said.

Halpin said he saw Banasik turn off Blackhawk Avenue and onto the west side railroad track.

“I think the traffic lights confused her. I think she thought she could turn onto a street there,” he added. “She ended up wedged in between the tracks and something. I went out to help and tried to pick the front end of the car up but couldn’t. It all happened fairly quickly, especially when I heard the horn. I told them to get out of the way.”

As Banasik and her passenger scattered away from the tracks, so did Halpin. He went back inside his building to shelter himself from any potential launch of the Banasik vehicle. But as it turned out, the train did not budge the car at all. “It stayed right where it was after it was struck,” he noted.

Ultimately, Halpin, who witnessed a fatal train/vehicle crash in front of his business about 16 years ago, felt everyone involved in last week’s incident was very lucky. “If she had been over one more foot, it would’ve been very bad,” he said. “Someone needs to make a decision about safety [at that location] as far as I’m concerned.”

According to the police department, the Blackhawk Avenue crossing and several others nearby were blocked for around one hour after the collision. Officers cleared the scene by 6:30 p.m.

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