BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
A 51-year-old Rhinelander man died in a two-vehicle accident that occurred on US Hwy. 51 just north of Tamarack Ln. in the Town of Skanawan late the evening of Sunday, June 9, 2024.
The Lincoln County Dispatch Center received multiple 911 calls reporting the crash at approximately 10:55 p.m. and indicating one of the vehicles was overturned. When deputies arrived on the scene, they found both drivers were trapped inside their vehicles. A silver SUV was overturned in the roadway with a 20-year-old Crandon woman and a dog trapped inside, and a 51-year-old Rhinelander man was also trapped inside the white utility van he had been driving. Emergency crews from Tomahawk Fire Department, Tomahawk EMS, and Merrill EMS assisted with extricating the woman from the SUV and she was flown to Aspirus Wausau Hospital by Aspirus Medivac Helicoptor for treatment. Unfortunately, the Rhinelander man who was the driver of the white van sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by Lincoln County Coroner Valerie Caylor. The dog in the SUV also had fatal injuries.
Traffic on the highway was detoured for close to eight hours and the Wisconsin State Patrol came in to conduct a crash reconstruction.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the SUV was traveling southbound on US Hwy. 51 when for unknown reasons the driver lost control of her vehicle and went through the median and was struck by the northbound van,” a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said. The crash remained under investigation as of Monday morning and the names of those involved were being withheld pending the notification of family members. Oneida County and the New Berlin Police Department were assisting with the process of notifying the family of the man killed in the crash.
The Lincoln County Highway Department, Ingmans Towing Service, and Lightning Towing Service also assisted at the scene.