Chicago-area man dies in Highway 14 crash
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A member of the Clinton fire Dept talks to the passenger of a pickup truck that was rear-ended while slowing down at the scene of a earlier, fatal accident at HWY 14 and Kemp Rd.
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The Rock Cty. Sheriff's Dept. and Clinton Fire and EMS responded to a one vehicle, fatal accident at the intersection of Hwy 14 and Kemp Rd. east of Janesville on 10-21-09. A second accident also took place at the scene.
Traffic fatalities map
A three-car crash took place Wednesday afternoon, just feet from emergency responders who were working at the scene of a one-car fatal crash.
Three people were injured—one seriously—in the second crash, Rock County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. David Vierck said.
In the first crash, Dean Berkiel, 45, of Lake Villa, Ill., died on impact when his car struck a tree at the northwest corner of the intersection of Highway 14 and Kemp Road.
The accident took place at 1:50 p.m., according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The car left the road and crashed into a tree before it rolled and burst into flames, according to the news release.
The impact was strong enough to eject the engine from the car, according to a Gazette photographer on scene.
Investigators think the 45-year-old man at the wheel was driving inattentively, Vierck said.
Sheriff’s deputies and Clinton fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene. The highway was closed from Avalon Road to County Line Road during the investigation.
At 2:31 p.m., after the road was re-opened, Jamie R. Newcomb, 40, of Footville braked while driving east past the scene of the fatal crash.
A school bus driven by Melvin Nordmeyer, 70, of Walworth, crashed into the back of Newcomb’s truck. The Dousman Transportation bus was carrying five students and a teacher from the Williams Bay School District.
The truck was forced across the centerline and spun into a car being driven west by Derrek Stanton, 37, of Janesville.
Newcomb on Wednesday night was in serious condition at Mercy Hospital, Janesville, Vierck said.
His passenger, Justin Newcomb, 16, of Footville was treated and released at Mercy Hospital, Vierck said.
No one was injured on the bus.
EMS personnel checked the children and released them on the scene, according to the news release. Parents were picking children up from the scene around 3:45 p.m., according to scanner reports.
Stanton and his wife, Lisa Stanton, 36, of Janesville were not injured. Their 2-year-old son was treated and released at Mercy Hospital, Vierck said.
An injured dog was removed from the truck and is being held at the Rock County Humane Society. A spokesperson for the humane society would not release the dog’s condition until someone claimed the dog, which had not happened when the humane society closed Wednesday.
Highway 14 was closed until a little after 5 p.m., Vierck said. The Wisconsin State Patrol assisted in the investigation.
The accident still is under investigation and citations are pending, Vierck said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Cmdr. Troy Knudson with the Rock County Sheriff’s Office did not know if any citations were pending.
Oct 24, 2009 at 7:02 p.m.
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My husband has been transferred to UW Madison because his injuries are more then they can handle in Janesville! My son was treated and released and is doing fine! We dont know what happend that the bus driver hit our truck so hard only thing we can think of is that he was going to fast and following to close!
Oct 23, 2009 at 7 p.m.
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My brother-in-law is 76 yrs old and drives cars cross country for a car dealer. 70 is not too old to drive a school bus. My concern is , why do people in Wisconsin tailgate?!? It's harrassment and extremely RUDE and really gets old. It's like the people who do it, are grown up brats!
Oct 23, 2009 at 4:17 p.m.
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kimberly should be fired,or spayed. that is one sad sack of a person, i was told if i didnt pay a quarantine kennel charge,my dogs brain would be harvested and sent to madison , i wanted to tell her to go to hell!, so i paid $400 out of this area to a spa kennel to make my dogs facial hair look better than hers and show her we`re not second class that go to janesville humane society i could have used that money to help the homeless animals there,so great job kimberly see ya at charity time, then we see who needs who....
Oct 23, 2009 at 9:21 a.m.
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I am glad your family is ok, but for Jake I am also very sorry for your loss. Why was the HS so rude? I know I have gone there looking to adopt another animal and honestly it is hard to deal with those people.
Oct 23, 2009 at 8:33 a.m.
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So sorry for your loss jfamo, its bad enough you went through all you did and then to be treated rudely! Whats up at the HS? They need to be taught some manners! May Jake rest in peace,
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:36 p.m.
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I would just like to let people know that when I called the humane society to ask about my dog Jake that had to be put down because of the accident Kimberely that answered the phone was extremely rude and had no sympathy at all for our loss!!! My husband and son being hurt was the worst thing in the world but losing Jake was the next big heartbreak and I was so upset after the way I was treated trying to get info on Jake!!
Oct 22, 2009 at 5:32 p.m.
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Some 70 year old people would be fine driving a bus, others wouldn't Of course, the same could be said for a 20, 30, 40, or 50 year old. I drove bus for a while when I was younger. It's not the easy peasy job everyone likes to think it is. Imagine driving that huge vehicle with (sometimes!) up to 70 kids in it. If he hit the guy then yes, he was probably following too close. He should have known to leave enough room to stop the bus. I can imagine with the accident there was chaos and such. I know Jamie and I will be praying for him and his family!!!!!
Oct 22, 2009 at 4:53 p.m.
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For the Wisconsin S endorsement, "Applicants up to age 70 must file a medical report or valid Federal Medical Card every 2 years and take a skills test at renewal. Applicants 70 years of age and older must file a medical report yearly and take a skills test every 2 years."
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/doc...
Oct 22, 2009 at 4:11 p.m.
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I have a 68 year old father and he would be compleatly fine to drive bus. You would never guess that he was 68 if you met him but still.
Oct 22, 2009 at 3:13 p.m.
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do you really think people just toss keys to all cenoir citizens and say here drive a bus?? No they take tests.
Oct 22, 2009 at 2:19 p.m.
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Seriously??? A 70 yr old school bus driver? Im sure he could driver but I think his reaction time should have been checked....as with all older people...I say starting at retirement age, 65.
Oct 22, 2009 at 12:56 p.m.
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oh my goodness married - settle down
Oct 22, 2009 at 12:09 p.m.
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yeah and maybe it means he had a stroke, or maybe it means he sneezed, or maybe it means he was talking, or maybe.....
Oct 22, 2009 at 11:54 a.m.
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Maybe that means the bus driver was following too close or going too fast?
Oct 22, 2009 at 11:44 a.m.
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he probably couldnt stop when the truck breaked - a bus is a large thing to stop on a dime.
Oct 22, 2009 at 11:33 a.m.
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I am not trying to be funny. I am wondering what happened to the bus driver to cause him to rear end the truck.
Oct 22, 2009 at 11:09 a.m.
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OK Hannah not funny
Oct 22, 2009 at 11 a.m.
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frusion I was wondering the same about the bus driver.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:57 a.m.
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Sad all the way around I hope the others are doing well.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:52 a.m.
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I don't think I've ever seen a Gazette blog with so many deletions.
Anyway.... I wonder if we'll learn whether this man from IL was sleepy or text messaging or what caused his inattentive driving?
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:48 a.m.
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people wouldnt attack you hannah if you didnt post some of what you did. They wouldnt attack you if you didnt write about peopel you dont know.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:44 a.m.
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my comment was removed because I agreed with lost city as far as the comment he made about the wait times in the er.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:43 a.m.
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No I did lost citys second one because that was not funny. I also did jtr because of her usual vulgar language towards me I am sick of it.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:35 a.m.
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hannah did you remove your own?
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.
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I removed a couple myself so dont take all the credit.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:28 a.m.
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I will write this again since it was removed.
The newcomb lady stated in the other story Jake the dog had to be put to sleep because he broke his back. Sad. Hope husband will recover. Sad story all over.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:35 a.m.
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my thanks to the staff - for removing 4 of the 9 posted comments - and yes i suggested removal - stay focused and keep it clean - is that so hard??
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:26 a.m.
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Hannah - Lost City's first comment was so funny it got removed. You have one twisted sense of humor.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:18 a.m.
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jtr-the second comment by lost city WAS not funny. I was speaking of the first comment.
I see you still dont understand the RULES at bottom of the page.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:17 a.m.
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So this is an appropriate story to discuss this? Pathetic. Have some common sense.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:11 a.m.
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I wasnt being evil. there was a discussion about the wait times in the mercy er.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:03 a.m.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:02 a.m.
Oct 22, 2009 at 8:58 a.m.
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So someone died and you decide it's a good time to make a joke. Very classy.
Oct 22, 2009 at 8:33 a.m.
Oct 22, 2009 at 8:32 a.m.
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