Alcohol plus ice led to Highway 26 chain reaction
JANESVILLE Street crews continued spreading salt and sand this morning on ice that has coated streets since freezing rain Saturday night, but it probably wasn't just the glare ice that led to a series of crashes involving seven vehicles just north of Janesville on Saturday night.
The driver whose car police believe triggered the chain of accidents—Dani J. Briggs, 55, Palmyra—was arrested on a charge of causing great bodily harm by drunken driving.
The person he is accused of harming is his wife, Barbara L. Briggs, 53. She was listed in critical condition at Mercy Hospital on Sunday, but her condition this morning was unavailable.
Briggs was trapped in the couple's Lincoln Town Car after it went out of control near the Highway 26 intersection with Wright Road. The car slid across the grassy median and into the path of an oncoming van.
The van hit the car broadside on the passenger side, the Rock County Sheriff's Office reported.
Janesville, Milton and Rock County officers responded to the scene around 8:29 p.m. Saturday.
Five other southbound vehicles were involved in crashes as they tried to avoid the crash scene, the sheriff's office reported. One minor injury resulted from those crashes. The sheriff's office did not immediately release the names of people involved in those accidents.
Officers shut down southbound traffic on Highway 26 and diverted it until about 10:15 p.m.
The Briggs car was struck by a full-sized van driven by David A. Cummings, 44, of Woodbridge, Ill., according to a news release. Cummings was not injured.
Dani Briggs suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment.
Three other southbound vehicles avoided crashes but ran into the ditch and/or median.
Around the same time as this accident, authorities around the area began responding to numerous accidents and runoffs as a light rain froze to roads, making driving treacherous
Dani Briggs was held at the Rock County Jail pending a court appearance this afternoon.
Working 'about non-stop'
Some Janesville streets this morning were in relatively good shape this morning, city operations director John Whitcomb said, though "quite a number" remained ice covered.
That's despite street crews working "about non-stop" since Saturday night spreading a salt and sand mix, Whitcomb said.
"We'll keep at this as long as we need to as far as sanding," he said.
Crews began about 9 p.m. Saturday when arterial streets started icing over. All residential streets received the salt/sand mix, and crews finished every street by about 6 a.m. Sunday, Whitcomb said. Crews started a second pass over every street at about 8:30 Sunday morning, along with a third pass at 4 a.m. today, focusing on the school areas first, he said.
Crews will continue to address issues today, he said.
Sunshine helped a little Sunday, but salt doesn't have "a lot of value" in residential areas because there's not enough traffic to spread the brine that's created, leaving only little pock marks of melted snow or ice, he said.
"We use salt in situations like this to keep sand from freezing in our trucks," he said.

Jan 6, 2009 at 11:45 a.m.
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BY "WRIGHT ROAD" THEY MEANT A LOCATION ON THE MAP KNOWN AS "NORTH WRIGHT ROAD" WAY UP THERE PAST FOREMOST KITCHENS ON 26. LIKE BY TOWNHALL ROAD, THAT AREA. NOT OVER ON THE WRIGHT ROAD EVERYBODY ALREADY KNOWS. . . A DIFFERENT ONE.
Jan 6, 2009 at 9:49 a.m.
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It sounds like the ice had much more to do with this accident than a drink or two. Until you find out all of the facts, don't be so quick to judge this guy.--Leave him alone.......
Jan 6, 2009 at 8:59 a.m.
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Very well said, hiloa. I hope your and your son's injuries heal quickly!
Jan 5, 2009 at 11:36 p.m.
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All the streets are done? Well ya might want to check the side streets between Milwaukee and Mt Zion From the circle east have not been touched! But hey don't worry you got our taxes so why do anything now..... My street has been plowed 2 times this winter and NO SALT OR SAND I just love having to go 5 miles an hour until I can get to A main road! What A Joke.... I do hope all involved in the accident Sat Night will be OK and if the county would have sprayed the roads before to ice storm Sat it may have been A different story, Rock Co has always been aweful to drive in....... I use to work in Walworth Co and always new when I crossed the countyline just by the road conditions. Its A real shame people have to be hurt because of our unsafe road conditions every winter.....
Jan 5, 2009 at 9:04 p.m.
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Roadmaster> FYI as a CDL holder and over the road truck driver for over 20 years all safe and accident free. for those of you that dont know the legal limit for anyone who has a CDL is .04 no matter what you are driveing at the time . Dont belive me ask the state patrol or for that matter ask the DOT cop they call duelly Dan he will set you straight. so yes even if Mr. Briggs only had 1 or 2 beers under the federal laws pertaining to CDL holder he would of been legaly drunk. and no i do not drink and have not drank for 25 years. I do hope his wife will be ok though. also any ticket you get in your personal auto also affects your CDL and vise versa.
Jan 5, 2009 at 8:28 p.m.
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I was the driver of the van that was hit. My wheelchair bound son and I were on our way home from a Wheelchair Basketball tournament at UWW. Although the article says that we are uninjured, that just means we didn't need to go to the hospital. My son saw the paramedics twice due to back pain. We were advised that if we did go to the hospital, that we would be there a very long time due to the number of critical injuries. I decided to refuse treatment at that point and knew I could call later if we needed help. Every muscle in my body hurts. It is very forutnate that we are ok. My first thoughts were to get my son out and to safety and then to check on the car that hit us. Fortunately our team van was behind us and was able to pickup my son and move him safely to a side road. I walked to the Briggs' car and by then a paramedic was already working on Mrs. Briggs. I then went back to my son as I knew things were being handled.
The justice system will take care of Mr. Briggs and if he was legally drunk, he will have to pay the price. No excuses. Icy or not. I did see the 5 other cars, 2 of which hit right in front of me. The roads went from ok to skating rink in a matter of minutes. I could hardly stand on the road.
No matter what though, Mr. Briggs is going to have to live with the fact that he severly injured his wife and could have taken the lives of others.
At this time, we should all be thinking about Barbara Briggs and hope that she recovers quickly and has no lasting physical injuries.
Jan 5, 2009 at 7:23 p.m.
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I can't say if he was drinking or not. I do know that when the road is slick cars slide off even when not speeding, but to sustain this much damage this guy was going way too fast for conditions and should be cited accordingly. I do not agree with giving everyone who slides off the road a ticket but when there is this much damage and this severe of injury its more than clear this guy needs to have a heavy fine and possibly a Driver License retest. The only people who speed in icy conditions are idiots in my opinion.
Jan 5, 2009 at 7:15 p.m.
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besides i thought he was innocent until proven guilty , i dont remember reading that he could be convicted by gazette reading
Jan 5, 2009 at 7:08 p.m.
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they need to start and aa group for serial bloggers lol
Jan 5, 2009 at 7:02 p.m.
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It is true that almost everyone of age (almost) has driven after a beer or two, even after a beer or two too many. That is the issue. The attitude that most drinking Wisconsin drivers have that "everyone does it", that "it's no big deal” and "I can handle it" is why a man like Mr. Briggs drives after drinking. I suspect he's done it before without consequence, perhaps many times before. It may be that the only reason he had his problems controlling his vehicle on Saturday was the ice combined with his alcohol consumption. He obviously didn't take the law or his condition seriously probably believing that he could drive without incident as he probably has before, and so did his wife as she seems to have been a willing passenger. Fortunately Mr. Cummings, the other driver, was uninjured, but only by chance or providence as Mr. Cummings name could well have graced the obituaries as well as this story, which is why we need a new attitude about drinking and driving in Wisconsin. How many have to die or be horribly injured until that new attitude appears?
Jan 5, 2009 at 6:36 p.m.
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hannah; Haven't you got anything else to do besides write articles on here, you wrote articles 15 times.
Jan 5, 2009 at 6:07 p.m.
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Like I've said before, this stretch of highway is dangerous for sober people. Lower the speed limit between Milton and Janesville. And get tougher on drunk drivers. I feel bad for the families who are affected by this accident and all the others who have died or been injured on this road.
Jan 5, 2009 at 6 p.m.
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hannah- can u say %100 sure that u have never had one or two beers and have driven home. Because in a state where 70 percent of adults drink on a regular basis its highly unlikely that anyone who has had two beers would say that they were too drunk to drive. We live in a state that will let drunk drivers to continue to have their license even after they've had numerous duis. And the roads were very icy bc i wouldnt drive 2 miles in it. There were many accidents that night and u obviously have nothing better to do to comment on a situation that u have been given very limited information on.
Jan 5, 2009 at 4:57 p.m.
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After watching 60 min last night, I agree with the NY prosecutor that anyone knowingly driving drunk is commiting a felony. if you kill someone while driving drunk it is murder 2nd degree.
Jan 5, 2009 at 4:56 p.m.
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The article says that he was arrested for causing great bodily harm by drunken driving but it does not list his BAC. So isn't it possible that when he took the breathalyzer he maybe was below a .08 but being an honest man who was devastated by hurting his wife & admitted to the officers that he had had a drink or two so the charges were filed pending the blood test results? Don't get me wrong, I am in no way a proponent of drunk driving, but isn't it ever possible that someone really could have just a beer or two & maybe get in an accident simply because of the icy roads. Sometimes, some of us, are just a little too quick to judge based on just what we read in the paper.
Jan 5, 2009 at 4:40 p.m.
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I work with mr. briggs, thats how i know he has a CDL. with bodily harm, would it still only be a year that he loses that for? and legal, i do not believe we could terminate him just because of this.....
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:50 p.m.
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If a CDL holder received an OWI while operating a regular vehicle (car, pickup motorcycle etc) they lose their CDL for one year, which also means they would likely lose their job. If they are driving a commercial motor vehicle and are over .04 they lose their CDL for 10 years.
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:24 p.m.
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Do any of you posting in here drink? I use to but havent for many years. I got an owi after 2 and I mean 2 beers The first breathalizer registered less than .10 ( when it was .10 ) They waited 45 min and did it again and to no surprise it hit .10.... I took the original to court and it was dismissed as at the time I was stopped I was not legally drunk. I got lucky. A lot of money and time spent now I dont worry as I dont drink at all. And the daughter is correct his BAC is not back so he may not have been past the legal point. By the way did the cop that went off the road get a ticket for to fast for conditions?
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:20 p.m.
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Just because you have a CDL doesnt mean you can't drink and drive at all. It means you can NOT be driving the commercial vehicle under the influence.
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:16 p.m.
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OOps could register drunk
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:15 p.m.
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By the way hannah depending on your weight and time after 1 BEER you could be drunk!
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:14 p.m.
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My street s. chatham off court is still an ice slide to my driveway cut a sharp right and spin on in!!!!!
Jan 5, 2009 at 2:52 p.m.
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I am not sticking up for my father...he deserves whatever he gets! I am saying that we don't know what his blood alcohol content was...he may have had a beer at dinner. Who hasn't done that. With a CDL you can have NO alcohol at all. Period.
Jan 5, 2009 at 1:28 p.m.
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in response to:
whoanellie-so what offese was this for him? Again with the drunk driving!!! he'll probably just get a slap on the hand, even though he could have injured or even killed more innocent people!!!!
i'm pretty sure that's not all that is goin to happen......... he has, or should i say had, a CDL, im sure he'll do some jail time too, i'm pretty sure they wont just treat it as a DUI since he injured others and hospitalized them!
Jan 5, 2009 at 1:03 p.m.
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Does Janesville really have salt and sand? What is the city saving it for? I was out early this morning and saw no evidence of any kind of road treatment anywhere. I was really surprised that Memorial Drive had not been touched in front of Adams school.
Jan 5, 2009 at 12:37 p.m.
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You drink, You drive, You lose. This guy doesn't seem to have a record but he still decided to drink and drive. I hope he gets his license revoked so he doesn't do this again. And just because he doesn't have a record it doesn't mean he hasn't driven drunk. He was just never caught. Drinking and Driving is wrong. The drunks are to selfish to think about how there selfish actions can end up harming or ending someone's life.
Jan 5, 2009 at 12:19 p.m.
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I am the daughter of these two people...before you all continue to pass judgment,you should think about the family. My parents have been happily married for 35 years and in today's society that is almost unheard of. To "whoanellie"...you should think before you speak. What good will it do to "give him the boot"? Everyone must remember the roads were so icy that many other cars lost control too.
Jan 5, 2009 at 11:20 a.m.
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This was charged as a 1st offense OWI against Briggs. He has no prior offenses on any kind (speeding etc) on the record.
Jan 5, 2009 at 11:10 a.m.
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For the geographically challenged, here is a map:
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&am...
.
The city probably intends that Wright Rd. will eventually be connected to 26 from the south.
Jan 5, 2009 at 11:10 a.m.
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so what offese was this for him? Again with the drunk driving!!! he'll probably just get a slap on the hand, even though he could have injured or even killed more innocent people!!!!
let's hope his wife recovers and gives him the boot!!!!1
Jan 5, 2009 at 11:04 a.m.
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mapquest: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Janesv......
Jan 5, 2009 at 11 a.m.
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No, there is a north Wright road that goes only one way off of 26 down from Bingham road. Someday Im sure they will meet.
Jan 5, 2009 at 10:56 a.m.
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I agree, I've been wondering for two days where 14 intersects with Wright Rd? Last time I was out that way, it ended at Rotamer.
Jan 5, 2009 at 10:09 a.m.
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Yeah, my street certainly hasn't seen anything either.
Jan 5, 2009 at 10:04 a.m.
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All residential streets received the salt/sand mix, Gee they didn't come down ours! The only thing I thought was pathetic is they didn't salt/sand at the schools today and the sidewalks were glare ice looks of clean solid glass kids were falling way to go for the city budget safety always first nope not in janesville!
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