Intersection where four killed in crash in Walworth County will be the focus of a study

WALWORTH COUNTY -- Officials with the Walworth County Sheriff's Office say the intersection near Highway K at Town Hall Road in the Township of Sharon in Walworth County will be the focus of a study after four people were killed and four people were hurt in a crash involving three vehicles that happened on Saturday, May 28th.

That study is something that is done by the Walworth County Highway Safety Commission after every fatal crash. Officials will look at the area and see whether anything needs to change.

Saturday's crash was the second deadly crash at that intersection in just over a year.

"The role of the Highway Safety Commission is to review all fatals," Kurt Picknell, Walworth County sheriff said.

The crash happened around 11:45 a.m. and involved a semi, a pickup truck and an SUV.

According to the Walworth County Sheriff's Office, a preliminary investigation has revealed the fully-loaded semi truck and trailer were traveling northbound on Highway K, approaching the intersection with Town Hall Road.

The semi had the right-of-way as authorities say there is no stop sign for traffic traveling on Highway K.

Officials say the pickup truck was traveling eastbound on Town Hall Road and failed to yield at a posted stop sign. The semi then T-boned the passenger side of the pickup truck.

The SUV was traveling southbound on Highway K and was also involved in the crash.

The semi was occupied by two people. The driver of the semi has been identified as Jerry Morris, 52, from Elkhorn.

The passenger in the semi has been identified as Kevin Grethe, 46, from Sparta, Wisconsin.

Morris and Grethe were transported to an area trauma center with multiple injuries after the crash.

The pickup was occupied by four people. The driver was identified as Carlos Venegas, 26, from Delavan, Wisconsin.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A passenger, Venegas' six-year-old daughter, was taken by Flight for Life to a trauma center. She remains in critical condition.

The remaining two passengers in the pickup truck have not been positively identified by the Walworth County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A GoFundMe.com account has been established to support the Venegas family.

On that page, Carlos Venegas' sister shared this message:

The SUV was occupied by two people. The driver was identified as Carol Terry, 67, from Rockford, Illinois.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her husband, Mark Terry, 68, from Rockford, Illinois was a passenger.  He remains in critical condition at a trauma center.

"One of the things you look at right away are driver attention and if there`s anything that could be done differently, or if all the driver stimulus -- as far warning signs and stop signs -- are in place," Sheriff Picknell said.

Sheriff Picknell said the commission will also consider that in May 2015, a Madison man was killed at the same intersection. His motorcycle missed the stop sign and was hit by a semi on Highway K.

"It was reviewed before and I know they`ll bring that traffic crash into this one as they look into it now that there`s been a second, separate traffic crash at this intersection," Picknell said.

Picknell said there are already "stop ahead" signs warning drivers approaching the intersection.

The question now is whether those are enough.

"Any additional options could include any advanced warnings like - whether it`s rumble strips of any other signage that`s not currently there," Picknell said.

The Walworth County Highway Safety Commission meets quarterly. Its next meeting is set for July 7th.