POLK, WISCONSIN — A chaotic Monday morning on I-41 in Washington County turned into a mass casualty event when a semi-truck plowed into several vehicles that were slowed or stopped in traffic near Scenic Drive in the Town of Polk, pinning one car vertically between two semi-trucks and sending an infant to Children’s Hospital by Flight for Life while four adults were rushed to hospitals by ambulance with potentially life-threatening injuries.
The crash at approximately 6:58 a.m. on August 17 came as Washington County Sheriff’s deputies were already stretched thin responding to a fatal motorcycle crash just to the north on I-41, where a 57-year-old man had died after losing control merging from Highway 45.
The semi struck four passenger vehicles and another semi in the secondary crash. One vehicle became vertically pinned between two semi-trucks, requiring the Milwaukee Fire Department Heavy Urban Rescue Team and heavy duty tow trucks to stabilize the vehicles and assist with extrication. Flight for Life was called twice — first for the motorcycle crash, then for the infant from the multi-vehicle crash. A sixth victim self-transported to a hospital for treatment.
All southbound I-41 lanes were closed at Highway K with traffic diverted to Highway 175 until approximately 2:30 p.m. The secondary crash remains under joint investigation by the Wisconsin State Patrol and Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Mutual aid agencies included Germantown and Slinger Police Departments, Washington County Highway Shop, Washington County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Hartford, Allenton, Jackson, Germantown, Richfield, and Slinger Fire Departments.
“Two major incidents occurring within a short time during morning rush hours placed significant strain on available emergency resources,” the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.
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