Whitelaw couple killed by OWI suspect

Posted at 1 p.m. on October 24, 2021

The Brillion News

TOWN OF NEW DENMARK - A man and woman from Whitelaw were killed on Saturday night in a two-vehicle intersectional collision on County R, just north and east of Maribel.

The crash happened around 10:49 p.m., according to Lt. Scott Vande Voort, a patrol division shift commander with the Brown County Sheriff's Department.

"It is believed that a 2004 Cadillac Escalade was westbound on Cooperstown Road and failed to yield the right of way at the stop sign at County R," Vande Voort said. "A 2018 Ford Fusion believed to be traveling southbound on County R collided with the Escalade."

The impact was front end to front end.

The Ford ended up 30 feet into a field. The Cadillac spun around after the crash and caught on fire, burning down to the frame.

Despite that, it was the people in the Ford who suffered the worse fate.

"Both occupants of the Fusion were pronounced deceased at the scene," Vande Voort said.

They were a 42-year old man and 41-year old woman, both from Whitelaw.

The passenger in the Cadillac, a 31-year old male from outside the area, was flown to Milwaukee with severe injuries after initially being taken to an area hospital.

The 29-year old driver of the Cadillac, a male from Green Bay, was treated for minor injuries, then booked into the Brown County Jail on numerous criminal charges.

Vande Voort said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.

Names of the deceased are being withheld while relatives are contacted.

The Brown County Sheriff's Crash Reconstruction Unit is in charge of the investigation.

Numerous emergency responders from both Brown and Manitowoc counties helped to manage the crash scene, which closed the affected roads for many hours.