Rescue caught on camera following collision, vehicle fire
By Erica Finke
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UNION GROVE, Wisconsin (WISN) — Racine County Sheriff’s deputies were met with a vehicle engulfed in flames and an unconscious driver when they arrived at County Highway KR and State Highway 45 on Jan. 9.
A spokesperson for the department said the crash happened after 6 p.m. A silver Honda Civic was traveling northbound on State Highway 45 when it was struck by a red pickup truck with a work trailer.
“The red pickup truck did have a stop sign, but the driver of that pickup truck failed to yield for that stop sign then went through the intersection at what we’re estimating is at full highway speeds right around 55 miles an hour,” said spokesperson Lt. Michael Luell.
The pickup truck spun, struck a pole and got caught in electrical lines while the trailer detached and rolled over. Luell said the three occupants in the truck are from Illinois and were in the area working when the crash happened.
Becky Willis was driving home from work when she saw the fire start.
“As I got past that truck and looked at my rearview mirror, I saw the car go up in flames,” Willis said. “Quick dialed 911, turned around, then went right back over where the other vehicles pulled over, and they had jumped out to run up to the car.”
Deputies quickly pulled the 41-year-old Kenosha woman from the Honda Civic and put out the flames with extinguishers in their squad cars before fire crews arrived.
“The medical personnel transported the woman to a local hospital. Later, Flight for Life transported her to Froedtert Hospital. She does have some serious injuries. She’s going to be in a lot of pain, unfortunately, but they are non-life-threatening injuries,” Luell said.
Willis said she’d been worried about the woman since she saw the collision’s aftermath; she’s thankful help arrived quickly to save her life.
“Traffic’s very minimal there, so the chance of there being three or four of us was kind of a miracle,” Willis said.
The Sheriff’s Major Crash Assistance Team is continuing to investigate. Luell said they’ll issue the appropriate citations to the truck’s driver when the investigation is complete.
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