DARLINGTON — Two rural Darlington residents were seriously injured in a crash early July 11 as they fled the scene of an assault at a bar in the city, according to a Darlington Police Department release.

John M. Rix Jr., 44, and his passenger, Emily A. Schmidhamer, 23, were taken first to Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County, then airlifted by MedFlight helicopter to the University of Wisconsin in Madison for treatment of their injuries.

Three days after the crash, Rix was still in serious condition but Schmidhamer had been discharged, a hospital spokesperson reported.

At about 2:20 a.m. July 11, Darlington police were dispatched to an Alice Street bar for a report of a fight in progress. Police determined a man, later identified as Rix, punched another man in the face and head several times with a closed fist and witnesses said the assault was unprovoked.

Witnesses also said the man left the bar with a woman, later identified as Schmidhamer, and sped off in a black SUV after learning the police were on the way.

An officer spotted the SUV speeding on West River Street and tried to catch up to it while activating his lights and siren.

“Approximately 10 seconds later, the suspect vehicle left the roadway and rolled over in a pasture west of the Darlington city limits. This occurred before the officer could catch up with the suspect vehicle,” the release stated.

Rix and Schmidhamer were ejected. The officer, along with Lafayette County deputies, rendered first aid until Darlington firefighters and EMS personnel arrived.

The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office is handling the crash investigation. Darlington police are handling the assault investigation.