Sheriff’s deputy injured in crash on U.S. Highway 2
A Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy was injured on Wednesday when someone rear ended her squad car on U.S. Highway 2. According to an article by the Duluth News Tribune, the deputy only sustained minor injuries. “Deputy Kris Witt, 44, was treated and released from a local hospital, said a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office news […]
A Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy was injured on Wednesday when someone rear ended her squad car on U.S. Highway 2. According to an article by the Duluth News Tribune, the deputy only sustained minor injuries.
“Deputy Kris Witt, 44, was treated and released from a local hospital, said a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office news release,” the article reads.
Witt was on the shoulder of the westbound lane of Highway 2 near Bayfield Road, just west of Poplar, when the incident occurred. Witt reportedly pulled onto the shoulder to check on a disabled vehicle.
A crash occurred in the westbound lanes and one of the vehicles reportedly careened into the rear of Witt’s squad car. The impact sent the squad car into a ditch, the Sheriff’s Office told the Duluth News Tribune.
“The crash happened at 7:35 a.m., when a white Jeep slowed to accommodate the deputy’s vehicle and was rear-ended by a Ford Explorer,” the article reads. “The Jeep was forced across the oncoming lanes and rolled into the ditch. The Explorer struck the deputy’s squad car and skidded to a stop farther down the road with heavy front-end damage.
The Wisconsin State Patrol issues a news release in regards to the crash saying that neither the driver of the jeep, who has been identified as 66-year-old Mark Baillie, of Brule; nor the driver of the Explorer, who has been identified as Kris Westerlund, 33, of Maple; was injured as a result of the crash.
“Westerlund was distracted and did not immediately notice the slowing of the Jeep, the State Patrol said,” the article reads.
The crash is still being investigated and it’s still not known whether Westerlund will face any charges in connection to the incident.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, as of April this year, 142 fatalities have been reported as a result of crashes on Wisconsin roads. Between 2009-2014, there were an estimated 29,036 injury crashes reported each year, the DOT reports.
