A motorcycle driver and passenger were killed Sunday morning when a car swerved into their lane on a rural Jefferson County road, colliding head-on with their bike just north of Concord. Two other people, the car's driver and the rider of a second motorcycle, suffered minor injuries in the crash and were taken to a hospital.
The crash happened on County Trunk F, about a mile north of U.S. Highway 18 in the Town of Concord, according to dailydodge.com. A Ford Focus was heading south on the road while two motorcycles traveled north, and the Ford's driver told investigators he believed the motorcycles were riding in the southbound lane. That belief prompted him to swerve into the northbound lane, where his car collided with the bikes, the outlet reports.
The exact timing of the crash carries a small discrepancy between local outlets. Dailydodge.com reported that sheriff's deputies responded at 10:08 a.m., while WMTV15 News reported deputies were dispatched just before 10:10 a.m. Sunday. Either way, the response came swiftly to a stretch of rural roadway that connects to one of the county's main east-west highways.
Two Motorcyclists Die, Two Others Treated for Minor Injuries
The driver and passenger riding on one of the motorcycles suffered serious injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene, per the dailydodge.com account. Their names had not been released as of the report. The crash left the second motorcycle's driver and the Ford's driver with only minor injuries; both were taken to Aurora Summit Hospital for treatment, the same report states.
Local coverage did not specify whether the two survivors have since been released from the hospital or remain under care. The circumstances that led the car's driver to misjudge which lane the motorcycles occupied also have not been detailed beyond his account to investigators.
Investigation Continues Into Cause
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office's Major Accident Investigation Team continues to investigate the crash, according to the same dailydodge.com report. No further findings on the cause of the collision or any potential citations had been made public at the time of reporting.
The crash adds to a string of serious roadway collisions in rural Wisconsin counties this riding season, underscoring the risks that come with sharing narrow two-lane highways between cars and motorcycles. Investigators have not indicated when the Major Accident Investigation Team's review might conclude.
