4 Vehicle Crash Hwy 18 Closed for 2 hours
On May 23, 2023 at approximately 12:47pm the Grant County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a 4 vehicle crash at the intersection of Hwy 18 and Annaton Rd.
Dan Carey, age 65 from Highland, was traveling westbound on Hwy 18 in his company's 1996 Mac 700 dump truck. At the same time Caitlin O'Connell, age 33 from Dodgeville, was traveling westbound in a state owned 2017 Ford Fusion. Also traveling westbound behind O'Connell was Bruce Hasheider, age 67 from Sauk City, in his company's 2017 Peterbilt semi with an empty grain trailer in tow.
Carey was slowing his dump truck to make a left turn southbound onto Annaton Rd. O'Connell saw the dump truck slow and was also slowing down. Hasheider did not see either vehicle slowing down and ran into the rear of O'Connell's Ford Fusion pushing it into the rear driver's side of the dump truck. Hasheider had also attempted to swerve the semi to the right, after pushing O'Connell's vehicle into the dump truck the semi slammed into the rear passenger side of the dump truck. This forced the dump truck into the eastbound lane of Hwy 18. At the same time Heather Volden, age 44 from Viroqua, was traveling eastbound on Hwy 18 in her company's 2021 Buick Enclave. Volden impacted the rear driver's side tires of the dump truck with the front driver's side of her vehicle. The dump truck came to rest facing westbound in the eastbound lane west of the intersection. The Buick Enclave came to rest facing eastbound in the eastbound lane east of the intersection. The semi came to rest across both lanes of Hwy 18 right at the intersection with Annaton Rd. The Ford Fusion came to rest partial under the trailer of the semi. Hwy 18 was closed and traffic was re-routed for approximately two hours while emergency crews worked at the scene.
The dump truck sustained minor rear end damages and was driven from the scene. The semi sustained heavy front end damages and was removed from the scene by Wegner's Auto Service of Richland Center. The Ford Fusion had very heavy damages both on the front and rear ends and was removed from the scene by Haase Service and Tow of Montfort. The Buick Enclave sustained heavy front end damages and was also removed by Haase Towing service. O'Connell was transported to Upland Hills Medical Center in Dodgeville for injuries sustained in the crash. All other parties sustained minor injuries in the crash but were not transported.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office was assisted in this matter by Fennimore Fire, Montfort Fire, Fennimore EMS, Montfort EMS, Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin State Patrol Inspector, and the Grant County Highway Department.
Hasheider received a citation for Inattentive Driving. Other aspects of the crash are still under investigation by the Grant County Sheriff's Office.