Police Confirm Man Committed Suicide in Train vs Car Accident

**Updated 8:03 p.m.

A 29-year-old Franksville man who was killed Tuesday afternoon when the car he was driving was struck by an Amtrak passenger train .

"According to our preliminary investigation, a train was traveling northbound, and the car was traveling southbound in between the two tracks," MPPD Chief Tim Zarzecki said. "The train tried to stop ... unfortunately they still collided, and that crash resulted in the death of the lone occupant of the vehicle."

Authorities have not released the identity of the victim, but family members told Patch it was Ben Glaeser. They said he was suffering from depression and other mental illnesses, and likely parked his car on the tracks to commit suicide.

Amannda Olmstead, who said she was Glaeser's girlfriend, told Patch the couple lived together near the accident scene. Amannda's mother, Jannelle Otto, also confirmed that Glaeser suffered from mental illness and that he just recently lost his job at Walgreen's on Lathrop Avenue after eight years with the company.

Multiple units from South Shore and Caledonia fire departments responded at about 2:20 p.m. for reports of an Amtrak train hitting a vehicle at the Kraut Road railroad crossing in Franksville.

Kraut Road in both directions remained shut down as of 4 p.m.

A representative from Amtrak confirmed there was a car on the tracks "near Sturtevant. There are no injuries to passengers or crew, but the train is delayed."

The train was northbound, heading toward Milwaukee when it struck a car sitting on the tracks, according to our media partners at WISN 12 News.

Mount Pleasant police Lt. Scott Geyer said nobody else was injured in the accident.

"Upon arrival our officers discovered one car sitting on the tracks. The male driver had to be extricated, but we do not know the extent of his injuries," he told Patch soon after the crash.

Flight for Life was called to the scene and landed at Haban Park. 

This is the second accident in less than a year involving an Amtrak train on the Hiawatha Line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Last summer, Jocelyn Flashinski died after she stepped in front of a train in Caledonia.

Patch will update this story as more details become available.