A 58-year-old Hertel man was left with life-threatening injuries after his van collided head-on with a straight truck on Highway 70 near Siren on Wednesday morning, according to the seed report. The 41-year-old Rice Lake man driving the truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, which happened shortly before 10 a.m. on Highway 70 at Narrows Drive, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol's account relayed in that same report.
The crash occurred at 9:57 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 70 at Narrows Drive in Burnett County, near Siren, according to DrydenWire. Both the Wisconsin State Patrol and the Burnett County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene, as reported by WEAU.
According to the same WEAU report, the westbound van was attempting to pass another westbound vehicle when it crashed into an eastbound straight truck. The van came to rest in the roadway after the impact, while the straight truck ended up in the south ditch, the station reported.
Drivers Taken to Separate Hospitals
The Hertel man driving the van was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to 715Newsroom.com, which first identified both drivers involved. The Rice Lake man behind the wheel of the straight truck was taken to Burnett Medical Center in Grantsburg, per the same account, echoed by WEAU's reporting that listed the same hospital destinations for each driver.
The seed report also states that both drivers were wearing seat belts and that authorities reported alcohol was not involved in the crash. The Wisconsin State Patrol continues to investigate the collision, and the cause has not been determined.
Not the First Highway 70 Crash in Burnett County This Year
Wednesday's wreck is the latest in a string of serious crashes along the Highway 70 corridor in Burnett County. On September 30, a Toyota Camry and a semi-trailer truck collided on Highway 70 near the Town of LaFollette, an incident also covered by DrydenWire, in which both drivers suffered non-life-threatening injuries and the highway was shut down for roughly six hours. In November 2025, a three-vehicle crash at State Road 70 and State Road 35 in Siren sent multiple people to the hospital, including an unrestrained juvenile passenger who was airlifted to Regions Hospital with possible leg and head injuries, according to DrydenWire's report at the time.
Separately, a Burnett County Traffic Safety Commission meeting covered by the Burnett County Sentinel raised concerns about other stretches of Highway 70, including passing zones near Alpha that officers said see drivers clocked at 70 to 80 mph on a road posted for 55 mph, and a stretch near the Wood River Garden store where backups and limited visibility complicate passing. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation plans to reconstruct Highway 70 from the Siren traffic lights west to the Minnesota border around 2030, per the Sentinel's reporting. It is not established whether those concerns are connected to Wednesday's crash near Narrows Drive.
