Ten years ago this week was Wisconsin's deadliest highway crash

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It was 10 years ago on Thursday when Wisconsin’s deadliest highway crash occurred. Ten people were killed and almost 40 others were injured when around four dozen vehicles collided in heavy fog on Interstate-43 near Cedar Grove in southern Sheboygan County. State Patrol Sergeant John Jones coordinated the law enforcement and rescue efforts that day. He said two cut-marks on the roadway, and a couple of nearby crosses continue to be stark reminders of what happened. Investigators never pinpointed a specific vehicle which caused the pileup – but they said some drivers never slowed down for the heavy fog, and kept going at 70-miles-an-hour or faster. Witnesses said they heard repeated loud bangs as many vehicles piled on top of one another.

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Madison Police said a woman was reading a text message when her vehicle swerved into a cattle trailer and killed a prize-winning cow that had just left World Dairy Expo. The 26-year-old woman was cited for inattentive driving after the crash, which occurred late Saturday night on Madison’s Beltline freeway. It’s illegal in Wisconsin to read-or-send text messages behind-the-wheel. Police said the woman was driving east when her vehicle swerved left and hit the cattle trailer. That pushed the trailer into a ditch, where it overturned. Eight prize-winning Jersey cows from World Dairy Expo were in the trailer. Those animals were valued around a half-million dollars. One died. Police said two might have been pregnant, and were taken to a veterinarian. The survivors were taken away in other trailers. Neither driver was hurt. Expo manager Mark Clarke said the dead cow was owned by someone outside of Wisconsin. He said Expo officials were happy that none of the people in the crash were injured.

Tags: news, wisconsin, accidents