Wausau Pilot & Review
Police suspect alcohol was involved in a New Year’s Eve crash that left one woman dead and four young people injured.
The crash was reported just after 1 a.m. Sunday on Highway 45 near Sandy Road in the town of Auburn.
Officials say a vehicle traveling southbound entered the west ditch, striking a culvert. The vehicle then overturned several times before coming to a rest. There were five occupants inside the vehicle, and four were ejected during the crash.
After being ejected the driver, a 19 year-old Hartford woman, was struck by another vehicle. She was dragged from the scene and located by deputies three miles from the initial crash site before being pronounced dead at the scene.
One day later, a 19-year-old West Bend man was arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run causing death in connection with the second crash. Police say the people in the two vehicles knew each other and were traveling together.
A 17-year-old boy from Iron Ridge was taken to Froedert Hospital in Milwaukee with critical injuries. He was initially identified as being from West Bend. The other victims — a 16-year-old girl from Theresa, a 17-year-old from Milwaukee, and a 21-year-old from Iron Ridge were taken to hospitals but are expected to survive.
Hwy 45 was rerouted for approximately four hours by the Fond du Lac County Highway Department and Wisconsin State Patrol while the Fond du Lac County Reconstruction Team investigated.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, and alcohol is believed to be a factor.
Names have not been publicly released. More information is expected after a complaint is filed against the suspected hit-and-run driver.
