UPDATED: CP Spokesman: Engineers Tried Everything to Avoid Crash

A westbound Canadian Pacific freight train collided with a heavy-duty skid loader carrying building stone at the 70th Street crossing at State Street at 10:10 a.m. today.

The accident ripped two wheels off the front-end loader. The driver of the vehicle suffered minor injuries and did not seek medical attention. The accident did not block traffic at local crossings.

The impact of the accident was powerful enough to damage the front of the locomotive as well (see photos).

"The driver of the skid loader said he got stuck in some traffic and caught in the crossing when the gates came down," said Jim Case, deputy chief of the Wauwatosa Fire Department. "He tried to maneuver himself out of the crossing, but with the large piece of equipment and the heavy load of stone on the front, he just couldn't get out of the way in time."

"The crossing gates and lights were active at the time," said Canadian Pacific spokesman Mike LoVecchio. "The locomotive, which was fairly badly damaged, has been towed back to the Milwaukee yard, and the CP police will be investigating, along with local authorities."

LoVecchio said that he could speak only for the railroad company and did not know what the skid loader was doing in the crossing or which way it was going. It is known that the driver was carrying a load of facing stone for the 70th Street bridge project, so it is likely the driver was trying to cross from north to south.

"Incidents such as this are completely avoidable," LoVecchio said, "if vehicle operators take a proper duty of care in the operation.

"Whatever happened, it appears the driver didn't take appropriate caution when crossing the tracks. By law, the train has the right of way. It can't swerve. There's no steering wheel."

"There's a very good reason that there's a sign, and this is true of every crossing, that says 'Do not stop on tracks,'" LoVecchio said. "The law says do not proceed into the crossing unless the way is clear to proceed beyond."

LoVecchio said that even though Wauwatosa has a "whistle cessation" in effect – trains do not sound their horns at crossings in the city under normal circumstances – the crew in this case did everything possible to avoid the accident and to warn the driver of the skid loader, including sounding the train horn.

"Regardless, the train made contact," he said.

LoVecchio said he could not speculate on whether the whistle cessation might be reviewed after this accident, but he said "It's an option."

"It's an awful situation for them," LoVecchio said of the train crew. "They can see this happening for a long time. They know they can't stop. They know he has a family and friends. It's a terrible feeling."

LoVecchio said the train, which was hauling far fewer cars than most that pass through Tosa on an average day, was a local service train providing for smaller customers between Milwaukee and Portage; hence, it did not block traffic at any local crossings while stopped.

"There is an Amtrak train, No. 8 I believe, that is still well west of Milwaukee that may have been delayed," LoVecchio said.

"We urge people, as always, to slow down and look both ways even if the crossing signals are not active,"LoVecchio said. "A healthy dose of common sense can often prevent unfortunate accidents."

Both the Wauwatosa Police and the stone contractor declined to comment at the scene.