Oct. 26, 2017 – Village of Richfield, WI – On Oct. 25 at 5:31 p.m. the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a vehicle that was struck by a train at the crossing on Bark Lake Road east of Scenic Road in the Village of Richfield.
It was reported by the caller that the vehicle was on fire and the vehicle had been pushed 2000ft north from the railroad crossing and was currently located behind a residential subdivision. The first responding deputies responded to the subdivision and located the vehicle fully engulfed in flames, still attached to the train.
Once Richfield Fire Department was able to knock the fire down, they were able to determine that the passenger compartment of the vehicle was unoccupied. Contact was made with the operator, a 34-year-old Richfield man, about one hour after the initial crash was reported.
The crash investigation showed the eastbound vehicle disregarded a closed road sign where construction was being done on the railroad tracks at the crossing. The vehicle became stuck on the rails as the operator tried to cross the tracks. The operator exited the vehicle upon seeing the approaching train and walked home.
The vehicle was removed from the tracks and the train tracks were re-opened three hours later.
The investigation remains open at this time and enforecment action is pending.
