Hamilton Ontario - As thousands of people squeezed into Lawrence Road to get the best view of the Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train's arrival, a Hamilton Auxiliary officer was hit by the moving locomotive as she tried to keep the crowd back.
 
But Karen Wallace brushes it off like it was no big deal, it was only a train.
 
"The rail car clipped my left shoulder and then it just basically knocked me off balance and it caused me to fall and I hit my head, I bounced right back up," said Wallace, 48.
 
The volunteer officer of almost nine years had her sights set on a group on kids who kept trying to get closer as they saw the train coming in, she told them a few times to stay back but as the engine went by, Wallace was hit.
 
"It could have been worse, luckily I fell back and not forward. I just felt bad because I probably scared the kids," she said.
 
Spectator photographer Kaz Novak was standing in the crowd shooting video while Wallace was walking towards him as he focused on the train. After she was knocked over, she bounced off of him as she went down.
 
"I thought she originally slipped on the gravel on the tracks, I didn't know she got hit by the train. It was all so fast, and then she said she was okay," Novak said.
 
Staff Sergeant Marco DelConte said the train was traveling at a very slow speed as the children moved forward to try to get a better view but they got a little too close.
 
The crowd lining the track had pressed to within a few feet of the train as it chugged by.
 
After Wallace was struck, she was checked out by medical personnel who were on the scene and she was cleared.
 
Wallace is more embarrassed than anything.
 
She has volunteered at the holiday train event for eight of her nine years as an Auxiliary officer and plans to be back next year.
 
She laughs as she says it was just a fluke and her timing was bad, she didn't realize how close she really was.
 
Canadian Pacific is aware of the incident and is taking it very seriously.
 
They are reviewing what happened to help in planning for future events.
 
"Safety is always a priority with this company and we are always trying to ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to make sure it's a family event that is safe and we try our best to make sure we have all of the necessary precautions in place," said Ed Greenberg of CP.
 
According to CP, there were several police officers, both railway and city police, and security personnel in place along the track for safety.
 
Greenberg said the incident was reported to the appropriate authorities and reports were filed.
 
The train that stopped in Hamilton continued on to London on Sunday and passed through Cambridge, Ayr, and Woodstock while the second train headed north to Thunder Bay.
 
The trains continue on through Canada and the United States with different performers along the way up until 18 Dec 2013.
 
Stacey Escott.
 
Watch the video.