Severe Fog Contributes to Sheboygan County Truck Crash
Severe fog has contributed to a Sheboygan semi-truck crash that resulted in at least 2 injuries. The crash occurred about 8:00 a.m. on March 9, 2010, at Sheboygan Highway County PP and Prairie Road.
The crash occurred when one semi-truck, driven by Justin Simon, 27, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and owned by Dierks Waukesha, a Wisconsin food distributor, was stopped on County PP, waiting for traffic to clear before negotiating a left-hand turn. A jeep driven by Timothy Christensen, 45, of Plymouth, Wisconsin, was stopped behind the Dierks Waukesha semi-truck. At that time, another semi-truck, driven by Steven Guelig, 51, of Cascade, Wisconsin, and owned by owned by Schwind Trucking, LLC, out of Glenbeulah, Wisconsin, approached the vehicles from behind and was unable to stop his semi-truck in time, colliding with the jeep, essentially sandwiching it between the two semi-trucks.
The crash also resulted in the severing of both tractor-trailer’s diesel lines, spilling fuel all over the scene, including fuel being spilled near an electrical transformer. The semi-truck crash resulted in the following entities being called to the scene:
- Sheboygan County Hazmat Team
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department
- Wisconsin State Patrol
- Plymouth Police Department
- City of Plymouth Fire Department
- Town of Plymouth Fire Department
- Plymouth Ambulance
- Jaws of Life Unit – Plymouth
Preliminary investigations have determined that the Schwind Trucking semi-truck operated by Guelig, was operating too fast for the poor weather conditions. Federal law requires truck drivers to use extreme caution in dangerous weather conditions, including fog.
According to the Federal Government, Schwind Trucking owns 10 tractor trailers and employs 10 drivers. Schwind Trucking drivers have received at least 5 moving violations and have been involved in at least one prior state-reported crash within the last 30 months.
A search has revealed that Schwind Trucking is insured up to $1,000,000 by Employers Mutual Casualty Co.
A Random Lake school bus carrying 26 students was involved in a crash Tuesday, October 27, 2009, with a pick-up truck. According to investigators, the school bus driver, 51-year-old Judy Degnitz of Fredonia, proceeded from a stop sign onto Abbott Drive from Lynn Road, into the path of an eastbound Ford F-250 hauling a utility trailer. The pick-up truck slammed into the side of the school bus.