Semi crashes into Elkhart Lake business; vehicle also struck, 3 hurt

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - The driver of a semi ran a stop sign on Highway 67 in Elkhart Lake on Wednesday morning, Jan. 10, before striking a vehicle and becoming lodged in a business. Two other parked vehicles were also struck.

The wreck happened shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday. Officials say the driver of the semi was not injured. However, the driver and two juveniles in the vehicle that was hit were hurt. They were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Cleanup is now underway at Cal & Gus Motors in Elkhart Lake. The auto shop has considerable damage. It has been shored up to prevent it from collapsing, officials said.

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"It just started plowing right through the building," Cal & Gus Motors co-owner Richard Binder said.

Binder said he was 10 feet away from the crash site.

"If I would have been changing tires I wouldn’t be talking to you right now," he said.

Police say the truck driver wasn’t hurt, but did cause a painful amount of damage.

"The friend of mine who had stopped his truck was parked right here," Binder said. "That got shoved all the way down and there was a vehicle inside a tractor. The wall fell on that."

Elkhart Lake auto shop struck by semi

The auto shop has been in Gary Hammann’s family for 90 years.

"It’s almost a daily occurrence that someone runs this stop sign here," Hammann said.  

He hopes this close call is enough to get attention to the dangerous four-way stop at the corner of the shop.  

"I’m really confused, why didn’t you stop for it? Because you almost killed somebody," Hammann said. "They better have insurance because this is on them."

The business will be closed until the structure is deemed safe. The driver of the semi was cited for running the stop sign.