MONROE — Less than a week after the second fatality on Green County roads occurred in 2024, a third victim was claimed. Both accidents took place in late September just outside of Brodhead along Wis. 81.
The first was just after midnight on Sept. 23 when a 73-year-old Rockford man failed to stop at the intersection of County GG and Wis. 81/11. The victim, Gary Rice, 73, had his SUV hit an embankment on the other side of the intersection, sending the vehicle airborne before plowing through sand-filled safety barrels. The vehicle soon caught fire inside of a building. By the time first responders arrived, Rice was already deceased.
According to Green County Sheriff Cody Kanable, that accident is still under investigation, as is the fatal crash that occurred just seven days later.
At about 2:02 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, the Green County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center received a 911 call reporting a motor vehicle crash at yet another notorious intersection — Wis. 81 and County T, located just south of the City of Brodhead.
Brodhead Fire Department and Brodhead EMS responded to the scene. Sheriff’s deputies were assisted on scene by Brodhead Police and the Rock County Sheriff’s Office.
A preliminary investigation determined a vehicle driven by a 23-year-old man from Lena was southbound on County T and failed to stop at the stop sign, traveling through the intersection at Wis. 81 and was struck by an SUV traveling westbound on Wis. 81. The SUV was driven by a 47-year-old female from Monroe.
Brodhead Fire Department extricated the Illinois driver, who was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver’s name hadn’t been released by press time. The Illinois vehicle sustained severe disabling damage and was towed from the scene. The airbags did deploy in the vehicle, and the driver was wearing his seatbelt.
The operator of the SUV was injured and transported to a local hospital for treatment. She was wearing her seatbelt and the airbags deployed. The SUV sustained disabling damage and was towed from the scene.
The investigation is ongoing at this time by the Green County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau, Kanable said in a press release.
Deadly intersections
After a particularly deadly year on Green County roads in 2023, where seven people lost their lives, the Wis. 11/81 and County GG intersection was altered and quickly transformed into a four-way stop. The intersection is scheduled to become a roundabout in 2027. On its website, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) said the “purpose of this project is to improve intersection safety due to the high crash rate at this intersection.”
There were two fatal crashes at the spot in 2023, and now seven people have died there in less than five years.
Also a notoriously bad intersection is the Wis. 81 and County T crossroads. East-west traffic on Wis. 81 travels at 55 mph, while the north-south County T has stop signs. That hasn’t stopped a slew of accidents occurring over the years, many of which because north-south drivers either skip their stop sign entirely, or try to leave their stop sign early to beat the oncoming traffic.
There were 13 crashes reported there from 2015-19, including one fatality. Failure to yield or failure to stop right-angle crashes were the cause of 62% of the accidents there.
The DOT also has preliminary plans for a roundabout redesign, with construction anticipated for 2026.
“The purpose of this project on WIS 81 is to improve intersection safety,” the DOT website states.
A 2015 UW TOPS Lab Safety Study showed that roundabouts reduce fatal and severe injury crashes by 40%, partially due to slower operating speeds across the entire intersection.
The DOT had its first public meeting on the intersection in 2023, and second public meeting is preliminarily set for Spring 2025. The final design should be completed by Aug. 2025 and construction the following spring and summer. The road will be closed in its entirety during construction.
A list of all Wisconsin DOT highway projects can be found at https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/by-region/sw/default.aspx.
Other area upcoming redesign/work projects with anticipated construction dates:
Green County
● Wis. 11/County S, Juda, roundabout, 2027
● Wis. 69/County C, Monticello, roundabout, 2026
● Wis. 69/Wittenwyler Rd, Monticello, add southbound left turn lane, 2026
Lafayette County
● Wis. 11/County P, near Shullsburg, roundabout, 2026
● Wis. 11 bridges over Shullsburg Branch, replace 70- and 82-year-old bridges, 2025