UPDATE: Victim ID’d in fatal Tuesday crash

Metro Wire Staff

A Town of Linwood man is dead following a single-vehicle crash on West River Dr.

Emergency crews were called to the accident, which occurred just one-quarter mile north of Blue Heron Ln. on Jan. 15, at 9:45 a.m. Deputies found the man unresponsive and in need of extrication from the vehicle.

Despite life-saving measures, the man, identified as Robert J. Platt, 75, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

According to a news release from the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office, Platt was driving a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee south on West River Dr. when he approached a curve in the roadway, left the paved road surface, entered the east-side ditch and struck a tree.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office and county coroner.

The incident marks the first fatal crash in Portage County in 2019; last year, the county reported seven fatal crashes.

The Portage County Ambulance Service, along with Rudolph and Plover Fire departments, all responded to the scene.