MONROE — With seven fatal crashes logged just before Christmas, more than twice last year’s number, Green County law enforcement officials say they are hoping for far less of those in 2024.
“It’s been a tragic year,” Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud said, adding that the county only had three fatalities during the previous year.
Green County was not an outlier in the area either — Lafayette County Sheriff Reg Gill said that six people were killed on roads there in 2023. That is a major increase over the county’s five-year average of three fatalities, he said, adding that two of the 2023 crashes involved Amish buggies.
“We are hoping to get through the remaining few days of the holiday season without any serious crashes, and we also hope for a safer 2024,” said Gill. “…Unfortunately, 2023 has proven to be an unusually deadly year on Lafayette County roadways.”
Many crashes involve speed and keep reoccurring at some notably dangerous intersections, such as the spot where Wis. 11/81 and County GG meet outside Brodhead. There were two fatal crashes at the crossroads in 2023, and six people have died there in less than four years.
In December, new stop signs were placed at the intersection in response to the mounting death toll there, but Skatrud said deputies continue to see violations. He said two violations had been written in the months since the new signage went up.
“The four-way stop was a welcome addition,” he said, urging motorists to slow down and give their full attention to driving, as distracted driving continues to be a leading cause of crashes.
The first death on Green County roads came on Jan. 13 — a three-vehicle crash just after 8:10 a.m. on Wis. 69, a tenth of a mile south of Highland Drive, north of the village. Peter J. Weix, 57, of New Glarus, was killed.
Here are some other notable traffic fatalities from 2023:
● A 27-year-old Freeport man, Thomas Zulke, was pronounced dead at the scene of a crash discovered at about 7 a.m. Jan. 25, just outside of Orangeville. The one-vehicle crash likely happened as many as 12-hours before. Crews were dispatched upon discovery of mangled wreckage and body of the victim — about 30 yards off the road in a field, police said.
● The victim of a May 20 single-vehicle fatal crash was Colin Rabe Jr., 52, of rural Monroe. The crash occurred just before 11 p.m. at the intersection of Wis. 11/81 and County GG. It was the first of two fatal crashes at the intersection in 2023.
● Richie W. Swartwout, 54, of Brodhead, was killed in a one-car crash on Friday, June 16. He was traveling on W. Avon North Townline Road, just east of South County Highway T in the Town of Avon, just before 6 p.m., when he lost control of his vehicle. The car then left the road and rolled multiple times. He was ejected from the car, authorities said.
● On Monday, June 19, 2023, at 3:09 a.m. in Lafayette County, a semi truck/trailer vs. buggy crash on Wis. 81, just east of Burke Road, in Darlington Township. Investigators determined the crash revealed that an Amish open-style buggy, pulled by a single horse and occupied by Samuel King, 30, and Fannie S. King 19, siblings, both of rural Darlington, was traveling eastbound on Wis. 81. The buggy was struck from behind by a 2002 Kenworth semi-truck/trailer, also traveling eastbound; and driven by Pavel Ivanovich Gritskan, 39, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
● A 53-year-old Janesville man, formerly of Brodhead, was killed in a motorcycle crash June 22. It happened just after 4:30 a.m. on Wis. 11, near County Road WC, in the town of Janesville. The rider, Jeff Harding, was a former Brodhead resident and worked at Kuhn.
● Anthony JT Robinson, 19, of Lena, died at an area hospital from injuries sustained in a June 24 crash. According to the department, the teen was riding a 2015 Harley Davidson north on Flansburg Road, north of Range Road, when he left the road, and went into a ditch. Robinson was ejected into a nearby cornfield.
● Kathryn I. Hilt, age 60, of Fort Atkinson, was another motorcyclist who died of injuries sustained in a two-motorcycle crash July 8 near New Glarus Brewery. The crash happened just after 12:36 p.m. in the N8000 block of Wis. 69. She was transported via MedFlight but later died. The second driver also sustained an injury characterized as being “severe” and was transported by ambulance to an area hospital.
● On Sept. 15, Ronald W. Zissler, 79, of Pecatonica, Ill., was northbound on Klinger Road at U.S. Route 20, southwest of Pecatonica, when he failed to yield to oncoming eastbound traffic. Zissler’s minivan was struck on the driver’s side door by a Dodge Ram, which was unable to stop in time to avoid the collision. Zissler was pronounced dead at the scene.
● A three-car crash just after 10:03 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, killed Joel D. Lutz, 61, of Marshfield. According to police, a Monroe teen failed to stop and entered the intersection of Wis. 81 and County N, colliding with a pickup truck, which then struck Lutz’s vehicle.
● Jason Richardson, 27, and daughter Teigen, 3, died in a pickup vs. semi accident Sept. 26 after returning from the funeral of an extended family member. The fatal crash outside of Gratiot on Sept. 26 was just the most recent heartbreak the Richardson family endured in 2023. In March, Jason and wife, Leane Richardson, Monroe, unexpectedly lost their 3-month-old son, Landon, to natural causes, in his sleep.
● David Koning, a beef producer, auctioneer, and civic leader, was killed in two-vehicle crash on Thursday, Oct. 19 in Iowa County. Koning, 74, was headed north from County Y between Dodgeville and Ridgeway when a semi traveling on U.S. 18/151 struck his car.
● Adam P. Buckler, 29, of Davis, Ill., was the victim in a one-car crash along the Illinois border in the Town of Spring Grove on Saturday, Oct. 21. He succumbed to his injuries the following day.
● Aaron Doyle, 18, of Brodhead, was pronounced dead at the scene of a crash on Oct. 23, at the intersection of Wis. 11 and County GG, also in the Town of Spring Grove.
● On Oct. 25, Carson P. Buholzer, 17, of Monroe, a local high school student, died when he failed to negotiate a curve at the intersection of Theiler and Freeport roads in the Town of Jefferson.
● Wendy Williams, a 56-year-old Lena woman, died in a Nov. 13 crash in rural Dakota. Williams was driving a Ford Fiesta that crashed with a 2005 Honda Pilot on E. Angle Road, near the intersection of Alfolkey Road, in rural Stephenson County. Police said she crossed the centerline and collided with another vehicle, driven by a 38-year-old Freeport woman, who was flown by helicopter to a Rockford area hospital. A 19-year-old Freeport man was also injured.
● On Sunday, Nov. 19, Robert Canfield, a part-time deputy sheriff, died in an Oneida County traffic accident involving a semi. Canfield, 76, graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in 1965 and went on to serve four years in the U.S. Navy. He worked for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for 30 years, and in 2013, at age 67, he attended Madison Area Technical College’s Law Enforcement Academy, and began serving as a sworn, auxiliary deputy with Lafayette County.
— Times Editor Adam Krebs contributed to this report