Washington Crash near Pioneer and Mayfield (Courtesy: WCSO Facebook)
RICHFIELD, Wis. - A Washington County crash Wednesday morning, Nov. 1 led to one of two vehicles involved catching fire.
It happened at Pioneer Road and Mayfield Road – the border of Richfield and Polk – around 7:10 a.m. A 34-year-old Hartford woman called to report she was involved in a crash with another vehicle and, after the airbags deployed, she was unable to get out. Her kids – ages 14, 7 and 5 – were with her.
When the first deputy arrived at the scene, the sheriff's office said the vehicle's engine compartment was on fire. The deputy tried to extinguish the fire, but it continued to spread. The deputy then broke two windows to get the family out of the vehicle.
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A preliminary investigation found the other driver involved, identified as a 50-year-old Hartford man, was headed west in heavy traffic and made an unsafe U-turn – colliding with the eastbound vehicle that the family was in.
The Hartford man was not hurt and will be cited, the sheriff's office said. The mother had minor scratches sustained as she got out of the vehicle, and none of the three kids were hurt.
The Richfield Fire Department ultimately extinguished the fire. Investigators are looking into why the doors and windows were not operational.
The sheriff's office said, due to a major highway closure on I-41 in Germantown from a different crash, traffic on the surrounding roadways was heavier than normal and compounded by icy road conditions.