Officer’s action exemplifies devotion to duty

Put yourself in this situation.

You’re in a line of traffic waiting for a freight train to pass a crossing and notice that a passenger van is trapped on the tracks between the warning gates.

As the train approaches it is apparent that the van cannot get out of the path of the train. It is obvious that a tragedy is unfolding before your eyes.

Most, if not all of us, would like to think we would act courageously and attempt to rescue the passengers without concern for our own safety. In reality, would we?

That situation unfolded Monday in Elm Grove. With a freight train bearing down on the van, police officer John Krahn ignored his personal safety and did what he was trained to do. He put himself in harm’s way to protect the public.

In this case, Krahn rushed to the scene and helped the driver, Monica Ensley-Partenfelder, 40, escape, and turned back to remove a child from the van just as the train plowed into it.

Scott Partenfelder, the driver’s husband, was in another vehicle behind the van with two other children. He and Krahn pulled the wife out, but their 2-year-old son was still inside when the train struck the van, and careened into the two men. Remarkably the child was not injured. Krahn, 41, was in satisfactory condition Monday following surgery. Scott Partenfelder, 47, underwent five hours of surgery for his injuries and is in critical condition.

According to the Associated Press, witness Tim Weiner said that he saw a police officer come “out of nowhere to help out.” After the officer helped the woman, he tried to save the boy, Weiner said.

“He was reaching in the back when the train hit the car,” he said. “He was trying to get the child out. It was unbelievable. This guy is a hero …. He didn’t have to risk his life.”

Krahn’s story, while dramatic, is not unlike other selfless acts of police officers, firefighters and first responders who are willing to put themselves in dangerous situations to protect citizens.

And we have no doubt that police officers, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters in our communities are no different, trained and ready to put their lives on the line when necessary. They go work daily with the potential of facing dangerous, live threatening situations.

Yet it is human nature to take them for granted. It is more common to complain about the traffic ticket or the fire code violation than respect their commitment to keep our community safe.

Most of us will never find ourselves trapped inside a van with a child with a freight train bearing down. But if in a similar situation, we’d all like a John Krahn nearby.

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