Kenosha Co. officials investigate fatal crash at I-94 & Hwy. 50

KENOSHA (WITI) -- Kenosha County Sheriff's officials say one person was killed in a crash that occurred on Wednesday afternoon, January 15th at the I-94 SB/Highway 50 interchange.

Sheriff's officials say it appears the crash occurred on the new ramp where it intersects with 71st Street.

This is the new route that runs parallel to and was built north of Highway 50 to alleviate traffic off of the Highway 50/I-94 intersection.

FOX6 News spoke with a witness who estimates the vehicle involved was traveling at around 100 miles-per-hour before it reportedly struck a pole.

Craig Judd says he and five co-workers had finished their work on a digital billboard when they witnessed the crash.

"All of a sudden, I heard a crash. Turned and looked and I thought maybe it was something with our sign, and then I saw a ball of fire after the impact of the car to the pole, and the engine just came flying out of the car rolling down the road in a ball of flames," Judd said.

Judd and his crew ran to the intersection of 71st Street, just east of 122nd Avenue to determine whether they could help the unidentified driver in any way.

"I called 911 and it was obvious the guy was deceased on impact," Judd said.

Kenosha County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Beth says this is a new, two-lane exit ramp coming off of I-94 SB, just north of Highway 50.

"This is probably the most significant damage to a car I've ever seen in 19 years. This is a new configuration with a stop kind of in the middle of the ramp -- but certainly, that wasn't a factor because of the high rate of speed. It just doesn't look like he was planning on stopping or even exiting. Maybe he still thought he was on the freeway," Sgt. Beth said.

Sheriff's officials say the cause of the crash remains under investigation -- saying there are no obvious reasons for the crash to have happened.

Officials say the severity of the damage makes it clear the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed. There were no skid marks to indicate the driver tried to stop the vehicle before impact.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this story.