Alcohol believed to be a factor in fatal Fond du Lac County crash

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: Dec 31, 2023 11:32 AM CDT | Updated: Jan 1, 2024 6:39 AM CDT

Updated at 6:39 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2024:

FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Officials have released additional information regarding the victims involved in the accident, first reported on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023.

The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office issued a press release on Monday, Jan. 1, noting that they believe alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the initial crash, though their investigation remains active.

Officials also confirmed that a 19-year-old woman from Hartford, who was driving the vehicle that rolled over, lost her life.

Accompanying her were reportedly four passengers: a 17-year-old boy from West Bend who was critically injured and transported to Froedert Hospital Milwaukee; a 16-year-old female from the Village of Theresa, who sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Children’s Hospital Milwaukee; another 17-year-old passenger from Milwaukee who suffered minor injuries and was sent to Froedert West Bend along with a 21-year-old from Iron Ridge, who, with serious non-life-threatening injuries, was driven by a civilian to Aurora Medical Center Washington County.

Published at 11:32 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2023:

FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- On Sunday, Dec. 31, around 1:10 a.m., Fond du Lac County sheriff's deputies and Washington County sheriff's deputies responded to a call of an accident on Highway 45 near Sandy Rd. in the Township of Auburn.

According to a press release, investigators found that a car traveling southbound ended up going into a ditch, hitting a culvert, and rolling several times before coming to rest. There were 5 people in the car. 4 of them were ejected during the accident.

A 19-year-old Hartford woman, after being ejected, was hit by another car. She was dragged from the scene and found by Washington County deputies three miles from the initial accident site. She was pronounced dead at the second site. Three other people were taken to hospitals with serious life-threatening injuries. One person was transported with non-life-threatening injuries.

Highway 45 was re-routed for about four hours by the Fond du Lac County Highway Department and Wisconsin State Patrol while the Fond du Lac County Reconstruction Team investigated the accident. At this time, the names of the people involved are not being released as the investigation is ongoing.

If you have any information on either of these two related accidents, please call the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office at (920) 929-3390 or the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s tip line at (920) 906-4777.