State Supreme Court sides with railroad company in collision with minivan in Elm Grove

MADISON (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has sided with a railroad company in a case involving a train that hit a minivan that was stuck on the tracks during a parade.

The court ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by a couple whose van was struck by a freight train in the suburban Milwaukee community of Elm Grove in 2009.

Those bringing the lawsuit argue that the Soo Line Railroad should have known there would be additional traffic at the crossing because of a Memorial Day parade in Elm Grove that day.

But the Supreme Court says the parade did not constitute a specific hazard under federal law that would have required the train to slow down or stop. The court says the parade created only a "generally dangerous traffic condition."