COLEMAN, Wis. – Two dump trucks, a logging truck, and a service van rear-ended each other in a chain collision, pushing the trucks into a moving train at rail crossing. Killed was Steven Buss, 58, of Kaukauna, in the service van. The accident was 11 a.m. in fog so dense that one-first responder said it was It was like “driving through a bottle of milk.” The train. an Escanaba and Lake Superior freight, was knocked off the rails. The crossing was in U.S. Highway 141, between the villages of Pound and Coleman about 40 miles north of Green Bay. Buss’ van was shoved under the train. The other drivers were rushed to a Marinette hospital 29 miles away. Sheriff Jerry Sauve said a tanker truck loaded with fuel was able to avoid the crashes, coming to a stop close to the tracks. There were no hazardous materials released, he said. In fact, the train was hauling mostly empty cars.
Chain collision in dense fog. Four trucks collide at rail crossing, derailing the train. Visibility only 50 feet. Twenty-five first responders and 60 volunteers rushed to the scene. U.S. 141 is the trunk route north from Milwaukee and Green Bay to the Upper Peninsula.
An eery account
Truck driver Scott Young calls himself fortunate to be alive. The crash happened just a foot away from him. “I came up to the railroad crossing, had my window down enjoying the nice weather even though it was foggy. Auy looks over and he goes, ‘Drive safe in this weather.’ And then we look behind us and here’s a dump truck just trying to stopping and it didn’t happen.”