Crash
R eports Fatal crash
On July 11, at 6:57 p.m., Ethan Berry, 21, of Medford was killed in a fatal crash that occurred on Harper Dr. in the town of Rib Lake. Berry’s vehicle was southbound on Harper Dr. when Berry lost control while negotiating a left hand curve in the roadway and entered the east ditch striking several trees and coming to a rest overturned on the passenger side facing a southeasterly direction. The crash resulted in a road closure until 10:02 p.m. A passenger, Qwinton Davenport, 22, was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated and was transported by EMS air to Aspirus Wausau Hospital for suspected serious injuries.
One vehicle
On July 20, at 2:45 a.m. law enforcement was notified of a crash on CTH E in the town of Medford. A vehicle operated by Thomas Joslin, 25, of Wisconsin Rapids, was traveling southbound on CTH E. The driver claimed a deer entered the roadway and he swerved to miss the deer. Joslin’s vehicle entered the eastern ditch and traveled in the ditch for approximately 100 feet before striking a culvert and coming to rest. The driver fled the scene prior to law enforcement arrival. Citations for failure to notify police of an accident and failure to keep vehicle under control were completed and mailed. The vehicle was towed from the scene by Krug’s Towing.
On July 13 at 11:15 p.m., Jody Reilly, 48, of Medford, was traveling northbound on CTH Q in the town of Medford. The driver told officers she was using her phone and drove into the east ditch at the intersection of CTH Q and Cedar St. She was cited for inattentive driving and for having windshield tinting in critical areas.
On July 13 at 2:21 p.m., Brodey Swoboda, 24, of Sheldon, was traveling westbound on CTH M when he diverted
his attention from the road and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle crossed the eastbound lane and entered the south ditch where it came to rest upright facing west.
On July 16 at 3:55 p.m., a vehicle operated by Sadie Moore, 16, of Medford was northbound on Sunset Rd. in the town of Medford approaching the Center Ave. intersection. Moore said she moved over as a semi appeared to be getting ready to turn southbound. The vehicle began to swerve as they entered the dirt road section of Sunset Rd. and the driver over corrected, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. Moore then went into the west ditch causing damage to the front and rear section of the vehicle resulting in disabling damage. The vehicle was towed from the scene by Krug’s Towing.
Two vehicle
On July 19, at 12:32 p.m., Hope Pagel, 38, of Stetsonville, was southbound on Second St. in the city of Medford, approaching the South St. intersection. A vehicle operated by Gloria Rojas Mae Lopez, 17, of Medford, and owned by Miranda Burns of Medford, was westbound on South St. and had a yield sign controlled intersection. Lopez said she could not see the Pagel vehicle until it was too late to brake and avoid. Pagel stated she was not able to brake and avoid the second vehicle who was to yield to unit one right of way. The vehicle operated by Lopez collided with the Pagel vehicle on N. Second St. Lopez was cited for failure to yield right of way. Lopez stated that visibility in the rain and poor brake condition may have been a factor.
On July 20, at 4:05 p.m., a vehicle owned by Gene Ulrich, 63, of Ogema, was legally parked in a parking stall in the Medford Plaza parking lot, facing westbound. A vehicle owned by Julie Shelton, 58, of Medford, was legally parked in a parking stall behind Ulrich’s vehicle. A third unit drove between the parking stalls and then away, temporarily preventing the drivers of each unit to see one another. Both drivers then backed out of the parking stalls at the same time, backing out in a northbound direction. The driver’s rear of the Ulrich vehicle then made contact with the passenger’s side read of the Shelton vehicle, causing minor damage to both vehicles.
On July 29 at 8:08 p.m., officers from the Medford Police Department responded to a vehicle crash on Hwy 64 at Washington Ave. Both vehicles were eastbound on Hwy 64. The vehicle driven by Roger Gebert, 54, of Medford, was slowing to turn left onto Washington Ave. The driver of the second vehicle, Tre Joseph Bender, 20, of Medford, told officers he attempted to brake as he saw the Gebert vehicle was intending to turn. He stated that when he hit the brake there was no response. He explained that there was a vibration in the pedal that felt like ABS on an icy road. No injuries were reported. The Gebert vehicle had functional damage to the rear end. The Bender vehicle had minor front end damage. According to the accident report, the Bender vehicle had multiple vehicle equipment violations. Bender received a citation for windshield-tinting-critical area.
Bear related
On July 22, at 7:28 p.m., a vehicle owned by Louis Koshak, 53, of Medford struck a bear on Hwy 13 in the town of Chelsea.
On July 11 at 5:26 p.m., vehicles operated by Raven Crabb, 23, of Gilman and Brian Hendries, 64, of Lublin, were both northbound on CTH B in the town of Ford, and the Hendries vehicle went to pass the Crabb vehicle in a no passing zone as they came out of the corner north of Polley Ln. The two vehicles collided in a sideswiping manner. Crabb advised law enforcement that Hendries moved into the side of his vehicle as they merged back into the lane during the passing. Hendries told law enforcement that Crabb picked up speed as he was passing and drove the shoulder along side his vehicle causing the sideswiping collision.Taylor County Sheriff’s department
Taylor County Sheriff’s department On July 13, at 7:47 a.m., Eric Ellis, 42, of Gilman was driving a semi-truck owned by Bach Farms of Dorchester, northbound on CTH E in the town of Hammel. The vehicle was turning eastbound onto Hwy 64 when Ellis struck the guard rail with the vehicle’s rear tires. Ellis was cited for failure of operator to notify police of accident.
