MARINETTE COUNTY (NBC 26) — A man killed in a crash that led to a train derailment in Marinette County has now been identified.
The Marinette County Sheriff said Steven J. Buss, 58, from Kaukauna, was the lone occupant in a vehicle that was part of a crash Wednesday morning.
According to the Sheriff, at 11:17 a.m. Wednesday, Marinette County Dispatch began receiving calls of a serious multiple vehicle crash involving a train on U.S. Highway 141 in the Town of Pound.
The Sheriff said that the Escanaba & Lake Superior train was crossing the four-lane highway from east to west. A loaded tanker semi full of fuel had stopped in the right northbound lane and a large service van had stopped in the left northbound lane.
Then out of the fog, the Sheriff said a dump truck impacted the service van from behind, forcing the van under the train. Another dump truck then impacted the first dump truck and also impacted the train with such force to derail the train, causing complete blockage of both northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 141.
The driver of the service van, now identified as Buss, was killed in the crash.
The Sheriff said the drivers of both dump trucks were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment. Their conditions are not known, the Sheriff says, but no reports of any life-threatening injuries have been received.
The Sheriff said the fog created low visibility, making the scene very dangerous for first responders.
The Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Patrol, and Marinette County Medical Examiner’s Office are continuing the investigation into the crash. The Sheriff says this is the 8th traffic fatality of 2021 in Marinette County.
