MONROE — Green County’s first traffic fatality of 2019 was reported early Monday morning, April 15, after a car went off the road near Clarno and crashed “nearly head-on” with a tree, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver was identified as Kyle L. Gumtow, 30, Monroe. He was the driver and lone occupant of the Ford automobile and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Green County Coroner.

The accident happened on County P several hundred feet east of Wisconsin 69, about a mile north of the Wisconsin-Illinois border.

A call to dispatch at 1:09 a.m. reported the driver was unresponsive and the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.

The Ford was eastbound on County P when it “left the roadway to the north side and collided nearly head-on with a large tree,” Sheriff Jeff Skatrud reported.

Speed was a contributing factor in the crash, according to Skatrud. It was unknown if the driver was wearing a seatbelt.

Chief Deputy Tom Moczynski said deputies who responded to the crash scene were still working on the investigation and writing their reports when he arrived at the sheriff’s office just after 7 a.m. Monday.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by Green County EMS and the Monroe Fire Department. The Ford was extensively damaged and towed. The Green County Highway Department also responded to barricade the road while the crash investigation was underway.