A four-vehicle accident near Platteville, Wisconsin on Thursday injured two and closed highway North of Platteville for over 5 hours.

According to the Telegraph Herald, 28-year-old Clayon Morby of Salem, Wisconsin had to be extricated from his vehicle.  Morby was taken by ambulance to Southwest Health in Platteville, then later airlifted to a Madison, Wisconsin hospital.

Authorities say Morby was eastbound on Grant County A around 8:25 this morning, when he didn't see a stop sign at the intersection with Hiway 80.  After entering the intersection at highway speed, Molbys work truck was struck on the driver's side by a semi-tractor trailer driven by 23-year-old Ryan Oberhoffer of Dubuque.  Oberhoffer was taken by ambulance to Southwest Health.  The condition of either man is not known at this time.

The news release stated that Morby's vehicle careened into the southeast corner of the intersection, went airborne, struck a power pole approximately 20 feet up, before landing on the banks of the Little Platte River." The power pole snapped in half, and Oberhoffer's semi jack-knifed, coming to rest against the guardrail on the east side of the road.

At the same time, 66-year-old Charles Johnson, of Dubuque, was driving a semi north on Wisconsin 80 and snagged the now-low-hanging power lines. The release states that "as Johnson's semi stretched the line, it ripped more power lines off of the poles" along Grant County A, bringing them down on top of a stopped vehicle driven by 79-year-old Janice Staskal, of Lancaster., Wisconsin

Staskal and her passenger were not injured, nor was Johnson.

The TH reports that the intersection and surrounding area were closed to traffic until 2 p.m. today as crews removed heavily damaged vehicles and Alliant Energy crews replaced and restored the power pole and lines.

 

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