Traffic: Bad start to holiday

Posted at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Updated at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 26, 2020

The Brillion News

The Thanksgiving holiday got off to a bad start in the area with two traffic crashes on Wednesday evening, November 25.

The first one, a three-vehicle crash at State 57/32 and Man Cal Road, about three miles north of Forest Junction, drew emergency responses from both Brown and Calumet counties.

Man Cal Road marks the county line.

The Hollandtown Fire Department, Brown County Sheriff's Department, Wrightstown area EMS First Responders and County Rescue Services were dispatched by Brown County. Calumet County also dispatched emergency crews.

That crash was far less severe than one that happened around 10 p.m. on I-41, just north of County S in the Town of Lawrence. It claimed the life of a 29-year old Appleton woman.

Officers and Town of Lawrence firefighters were working at the scene of a crash, north of County S on the southbound side of I-41, when a second crash happened. A southbound Ford Escape, driven by the Appleton woman, plowed into the back of a Lawrence Fire Department fire truck that was parked on the road to protect officers working the first crash.

The front end of the woman's vehicle was demolished by the impact. There was a firefighter in the cab of the fire truck but he was not injured.

"The driver of the Ford Escape ... was pronounced dead at the scene," said Hobart-Lawrence Police Investigator Dan Van Lanen. "It is unknown at this time what caused the crash."

The Wrightstown Fire Department and its Jaws-For-Life power extraction equipment were dispatched to the scene, along with Brown County sheriff's deputies, Hobart-Lawrence Police, the Wisconsin State Patrol and De Pere Police, Lawrence Fire Department, De Pere Fire Department and De Pere Fire-Rescue ambulance.

[<< Brillion News photo]

A nearby resident said the crash sounded like an explosion as the SUV hit the fire tanker.

The late-model SUV, draped with blue tarps, was demolished.

Southbound lanes of I-41 were closed from Scheuring Road to Freedom Road, and several dozen police vehicles were on the scene itself, south of Little Rapids Road.

The incident closed the road for most of the night. Traffic flow was restored around 4 a.m. Thursday.

The crash remains under investigation. The victim's identity was withheld by police as family members were contacted.