(Swea City)– Two teenage boys were seriously injured when a train collided with a vehicle they were in late Tuesday afternoon at a crossing on the northeast side of Lakota.
The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office says a 16-year-old was driving the vehicle southbound and was going through a crossing when the vehicle was struck by a Union Pacific train.
Authorities say a passerby, identified as Alex Horak of Lakota, witnessed the incident and called 911. Horak then saw the vehicle catch on fire with the two occupants still inside. He rushed toward the vehicle and pulled both teens out of the vehicle just before it became completely engulfed, with train cars loaded with ethanol just feet away. Fire and rescue crews then arrived on the scene.
The 16-year-old driver was transported by air to a Rochester, Minnesota hospital. A 12-year-old passenger was taken to the Algona hospital and was also transferred by air to a Rochester hospital. Authorities say both boys sustained head and upper body injuries. They add the incident remains under investigation.
