WAUWATOSA - Tuesday, for the first time, Monica Partenfelder publicly thanked the police officer who saved her life. "I want to start by thanking this wonderful man," she told Ofc. John Krahn of the Elm Grove Police Department. "You'll never know how much I appreciate it." Monica, her husband Scott and Krahn spoke at a press conference Wednesday in Froedtert Hospital conference room. Krahn was working traffic duty for the Elm Grove Memorial Day parade at railroad crossing near the police station. Traffic came to a halt with Monica's minivan on the tracks. "All of a sudden I see the railroad arms coming down," said Krahn. Monica tried to get her van off the tracks with the train fast approaching, but her front tire got stuck on the rail as she turned. "I grabbed her, pulled her out, pushed her away," recounted Krahn. "At that point, I felt relaxed. I felt safe and that's when she said my baby still in car." The Partenfelder's two-year-old son Mack was still strapped in his car seat. Scott and Officer Krahn rushed in to rescue. "I could see Mack in the car seat," said Scott. "I heard the train blow its whistle. I heard the screech of the train brake. I knew at that point I wasn't going to get my son out." The Canadian Pacific freight train slammed into the minivan "I felt the impact of the train striking the vehicle which propelled me into the air," said Krahn. It proved to be a miracle that the car seat was so stubborn. The toddler likely would have been thrown from the van if was not safely buckled in. "I was certain he had died as soon as it hit," said Monica. "If you were there, there's no way you would have ever imagined that anyone could have survived that." Mack survived without even scratch. Doctors released the Scott on Tuesday, but his voice remains scratchy because he was connected to breathing tube for several days. Krahn remains hospitalized with several broken bones. One of his legs is in a large cast and he is in a great deal of pain. "Both Scott and the officer came in with potentially fatal injuries," said Dr. Travis Webb, a Froedtert Hospital trauma and critical care specialist. "Scott had more severe injuries." The Partenfelders and Krahn thanked hundreds who prayed, sent cards and called. Both families have benefit accounts set up for donations at M&I Bank.