Wrong-way driver results in fatal Friday crash

By Brandi Makuski

One man is dead following a northside crash early Friday morning.

Fire and medic crews from Stevens Point, Plover, and Hull responded to I-39 southbound at mile marker 161 at 12:26 a.m. on Sept. 30 when a caller reported the crash. According to the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office, a northbound SUV was traveling in the southbound lane and struck a southbound semi-truck.

Both vehicles entered the median and the SUV caught on fire. The operator of the semi, a 54-year-old man from De Pere, was able to exit his vehicle and reported to deputies arriving on the scene, but the driver of the SUV, a 71-year-old man from Stevens Point, was pinned in the vehicle.

Due to the “extreme fire,” the operator of the SUV did not survive, the sheriff’s office said. He was the lone occupant.

The semi-truck driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at the Stevens Point Aspirus Hospital.

Portage Co. deputies and police from Stevens Point and UWSP also responded to the crash site. The Portage Co. Highway Dept. and Stevens Point Streets Dept. also assisted with rerouting traffic.

The Wisconsin State Patrol responded to assist in accident reconstruction.

The sheriff’s office is withholding the names of the victims at this time.

Emergency crews were on the scene for about four hours, leaving shortly after 4 a.m. The collision remains under investigation.