(Sparta, Wisconsin – January 27, 2013)
A yet-to-be-identified 18-year-old male was hit and seriously injured Monday afternoon at about 1:30 P.M. as he tried to cross Canadian Pacific railroad tracks near the intersection of Milwaukee Street and Walrath Street in Sparta, WI at a point where there is no crossing.
The young man was first transported to Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Sparta, but his injuries were so severe, in fact, life-threatening, that he had to be transferred to Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, an average of 33 trains, including Amtrak operations, travel the corridor through Sparta daily at top speeds of 70 mph.
CP Rail authorities were “assisting” Sparta Police Dept. officers in conducting the investigation into the accident.