A damaged minivan rests just off the train tracks after being struck by a southbound freight train stopped in the background Monday in Elm Grove. The minivan was stopped on the train tracks at Juneau Boulevard when the train collided with the van, injuring a police officer and father attempting to free the man's two-year-old son from the vehicle.

ELM GROVE - Three days after the train accident that injured Elm Grove Police Officer John Krahn, his family reached out to the community for the first time through a news release Thursday.

"Although John is in satisfactory condition, his injuries are severe. We are choosing to provide this information because of the overwhelming care and concern the community has show for John’s well-being," the statement read.

Shortly before the village’s Memorial Day parade Monday, Krahn helped Scott Partenfelder, 47, of West Allis pull his wife and small child from a minivan stuck in the path of an oncoming 94-car freight train.

Although the mother, Monica Ensley-Partenfelder, 40, and her 2-year-old son were not injured in the incident, Krahn and Partenfelder were both injured when the train struck the vehicle and both men were taken to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, where they have both undergone surgeries.

In its news release, the Krahn family described John Krahn’s injuries as a compound fracture of his tibia and fibula (calf and shinbone), fractured shoulder and pelvis, four broken ribs, sprained right leg and ankle and abrasions all over his body.

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