A 77-year-old Jefferson man was killed Thursday morning when a semi-truck ran a stop sign and struck his SUV at State Highway 16/60 and County Road BB in the Town of Elba, Dodge County — and before the scene could even clear, a second crash nearby sent a sheriff's office employee to the hospital.
According to the FOX6 News Milwaukee report, the crash happened at approximately 6:58 a.m. when a southbound semi failed to stop at the sign and struck a westbound GMC SUV. The Dodge County Sheriff's Office says the SUV driver, a 77-year-old Jefferson man, died at the scene. The semi driver, a 28-year-old Waterloo man, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
Second Crash Strikes Officer Directing Traffic
The investigation into the fatal collision shut down the intersection for nearly three hours. While a Dodge County Sheriff's Office Community Service Officer was conducting traffic control at the nearby intersection of Highway 16/60 and County Highway T, another motorist struck the officer's patrol vehicle, which had its emergency lights activated at the time.
The impact pushed the vehicle into the officer, who was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the station's report notes. The driver responsible for striking the officer's vehicle has not been identified, and investigators had not said whether the semi driver would face citations or charges. Both the Dodge County Sheriff's Office and the Wisconsin State Patrol are investigating both crashes.
Community Service Officers in Dodge County are non-sworn personnel, often criminal justice students, who handle roles like scene traffic control and motorist assistance so that sworn deputies can focus on crash reconstruction and investigation, per the Dodge County Sheriff's Office annual report.
Wisconsin's Move Over Protections
Under Wisconsin Statute § 346.072, the state's Move Over Law requires drivers approaching stationary emergency or law enforcement vehicles with active warning lights to shift into an adjacent lane or slow down. Violations can cost several hundred dollars and add demerit points, according to the Bucher Law Group. Wisconsin Act 115, enacted in December 2021, further established a 500-foot “emergency response area” around activated emergency vehicles, where penalties for certain violations are doubled and handheld phone use is barred, as explained by Deer-Grove EMS.
A Corridor With a Grim History
This stretch of Highway 16/60 in the Town of Elba has seen deadly failures to yield before. In May 2024, a pickup truck failed to stop at the County Highway TT stop sign and was struck by a semi-truck, killing four teenagers and injuring two others, according to WTMJ. In response, the Dodge County Sheriff's Office installed temporary highway safety evaluation cameras in June 2025 at key intersections, including County Highway T and County Highway TT, to study traffic patterns and consider physical safety upgrades.
Whether county or state highway officials will pursue permanent changes — such as roundabouts or additional warning signage — at County Road BB remains an open question.
Part of a Troubling Statewide Trend
Multiple agencies responded to Thursday's scene, including the Columbus Fire Department, Columbus Police Department, Lifestar Ambulance Service, the Dodge County Emergency Response Team, and the Dodge County Medical Examiner's Office.
