Train strikes car on tracks in Lansing ...

No one was injured Friday afternoon, July 14 when a train struck the vehicle pictured above and below that had ended up on the railroad tracks along North Front Street in Lansing near its intersection with Henry Street, just north of the Black Hawk Bridge and south of the Lansing Marina. An initial report from the Lansing Police Department indicates that the vehicle, driven by 78-year-old Frederica Trunkel of Mesa, AZ, had its brakes malfunction while traveling down the incline of Henry Street, was unable to stop at the intersection with North Front Street and ended up veering on to the tracks just prior to the arrival of the scheduled train that was already traveling into Lansing at the time of the incident. The timing of the incident did not allow enough time for the train to stop prior to impact. The train was slowed by its emergency brakes but still pushed the vehicle about 400 feet down the track, from its initial impact at Henry Street more than a block to the north, just past Gray Street. Trunkel, the lone occupant, was able to get out of the vehicle prior to impact. Photos by Bob Modersohn.