ELM GROVE - A 17-year veteran with the Elm Grove Police department was injured Monday as he attempted to help a 47-year-old man pull his wife and small child from a minivan stuck in the path of an oncoming freight train.

The accident occurred just before the community's Memorial Day parade was about to begin, leading to the cancelation of the annual event. The father of the child was also injured in the incident and he and Officer John Krahn, 41, were transported to Froedtert Memorial Hospital where they underwent surgery Monday afternoon, according to a news release from the Elm Grove Police Department.

Krahn was in satisfactory condition Monday evening following surgery, said Kim Wick, a spokeswoman for Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee. The father, Scott Partenfelder, was in critical condition Monday night after undergoing nearly eight hours of surgery, the hospital said.

The female driver of the van, Monica Ensley-Partenfelder, 40, of West Allis, and her two-year-old son escaped unharmed, said Jim Gage, police chief in suburban Elm Grove.

It was not clear why the van was on the tracks, but it appeared Ensley-Partenfelder got stuck in traffic, Gage said. The accident occurred at 9:30 a.m. Monday as the van was traveling west on Juneau Boulevard, according to the news release.

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