Dec. 1--A Burlington woman struck by an Amtrak train Thursday will not be able to have her severed foot re-attached, according to local officials.

The woman, 23-year-old Sudene S. Forrester, was waiting at the Burlington Depot, along with her three children, to catch a train that would have taken them to visit family in Chicago. Forrester, who was holding her 1-year-old daughter, was standing too close to the tracks when the passenger train approached and her foot was caught under it, according to police.

The foot was completely severed at the ankle. The child was thrown under the train, but received only minor abrasions.

Forrester's leg was crushed at the point of amputation, making it impossible to re-attach the foot, said Burlington Fire Department Battalion Chief Kent Morris.

Emergency responders were notified of the accident at about 12:16 p.m. and were on the scene within minutes.

Upon seeing the woman's injury, emergency medical personnel immediately called in a helicopter to transport Forrester to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Morris said.

"She was on a helicopter within 15 minutes of us getting there," Morris said. "Initially they were going to wait for the foot. But with the type of injury she had, we could see there wasn't any use, because we had to get the train moved before we could get the foot."

The infant was taken by ambulance to Great River Medical Center in West Burlington and was later shuttled to the hospital in Iowa City.

Relatives from Chicago traveled to Burlington to pick up Forrester's other two children, according to police, who declined to release the names of the children.

No further information about Forrester or her child's conditions were available Sunday from the university hospital.

Forrester was contacted at her hospital room Sunday, but declined comment.

A posting left by Forrester's sister on The Hawk Eye Web site said Forrester will lose part of her left leg, but she is in "good spirit," and the baby is doing well with only a few bumps and bruises.

To see more of The Hawk Eye or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thehawkeye.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.