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Milwaukee woman struck by train in Atlanta trying to save her mother

Posted at 10:13 PM, Aug 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-23 15:41:02-04

A Milwaukee woman is in critical condition after her mother was pushed into the path of an oncoming train, and she tried to save her. 

The daughter is now in critical condition after the incident in Atlanta over the weekend. 

After Susan Wenszell was pushed her daughter jumped onto the tracks and covered her mother with her body. But that left Katie Wenszell to take the brunt of the train. 

What was supposed to be a girls trip to Atlanta with a Milwaukee mother and her five daughters turned into a nightmare for the Wenszell family. 

A man they never met was in the station as they waited for a train to arrive. 

“This man, agitated, talking to himself mumbling and next thing we know, ran over and pushed my wife she ended up falling onto the track,” said Jerry Wenszell, the husband and father of the family. 

Susan was knocked out and a train was coming in. 

“Katie jumped down, tried to move Sue off the tracks and just got her in between the tracks and the train literally went over both of the top of them,” Jerry said. 

The train missed Susan. Katie was hit and dragged. 

She lost part of her foot, her shoulder was shattered, she punctured a lung and broke most of the bones in her face. Her dad calls her his hero. 

“Most said had Katie not jumped down, Sue would have come home in a box,” Jerry said. 

The man who pushed Susan is now facing charges. But Jerry isn’t angry and relies on his faith. 

“No, actually I'm not. I actually prayed for the guy,” he said. 

Katie now faces a long road to recovery, including the potential for more surgeries. Jerry says he’s had to stay in Milwaukee to take care of the family’s young children. 

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Katie's medical expenses.