A wrong-way driver slammed into oncoming traffic on I-94 west of County Road E in the Town of Concord late Friday night, setting off a three-vehicle crash that injured two people and shut down the interstate for hours. One of those hurt was flown to a hospital, while a second vehicle later struck a State Patrol squad car as troopers worked to close the highway.
The crash happened at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, according to Wisconsin State Patrol Sgt. Scott Gouin, as reported by the Leader Independent. Gouin said the wrong-way driver entered I-94 at Willow Glen Road and headed westbound in the eastbound lanes before colliding with other vehicles, triggering the pileup.
Med Flight transported one of the injured to Aurora Medical Center–Summit, according to scanner reports cited in the outlet's account. Gouin said that patient was believed to be the driver of the wrong-way vehicle. A second injured person was taken by ambulance, per the same report.
Highway Shut Down for Hours as Second Crash Unfolds
Law enforcement closed eastbound I-94 at State Highway 26 in Johnson Creek in the aftermath, keeping the interstate shut for about four hours. While a trooper was in the process of closing that stretch, a separate vehicle struck the trooper's squad car, according to call notes relayed by Gouin. The trooper suffered no apparent injury, though the other driver involved sustained minor injuries.
Crews began reopening the interstate at about 3:35 a.m. Saturday and had the scene fully cleared by roughly 3:50 a.m., the same report said. The Wisconsin State Patrol's Technical Reconstruction Unit is now investigating the initial crash, though no findings have been released.
Wisconsin's Wrong-Way Crash Problem
The overnight wreck adds to a trend that has made Wisconsin an outlier nationally. Between 2013 and 2022, 484 of the state's 5,327 fatal traffic crashes involved wrong-way drivers — 9.1 percent, the highest share of any state, compared with a 3.5 percent national average, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures reported by madison.com. That report identified drunken driving and older drivers as key factors behind the pattern, and noted that better signage, redesigned roads and flashing alert systems can help prevent such crashes.
The scale of the issue has only grown more apparent in recent years. As of mid-December 2025, more than 700 verified wrong-way drivers had been detected or reported to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation by law enforcement that year alone, with over 250 more confirmed through wrong-way alert systems, according to Fox 11. WisDOT created an internal task force in 2024 to build on existing efforts, and the agency was analyzing data to select 10 locations in the Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau areas for wrong-way alert systems, on top of 20 already installed on state highways.
A Recurring Danger on Jefferson County Roads
Friday's crash is far from an isolated incident in the area. A wrong-way crash on I-94 near Lake Mills killed two people and injured another, the State Patrol reported, according to madison.com. In another Jefferson County incident, a westbound wrong-way SUV entered a construction zone on I-94 and struck a dump truck head-on; the SUV's 30-year-old driver was flown to Froedtert Hospital with life-threatening injuries, while the 55-year-old dump truck driver was unhurt, per FOX6. Alcohol was suspected as a contributing factor in that crash, and enforcement action remained pending as it stayed under investigation, the station reported.
Wrong-way crashes involving law enforcement vehicles have also surfaced elsewhere this fall. In Vermont, a wrong-way driver on Interstate 89 crashed into a State Police cruiser near Exit 12; the trooper and a passenger in the wrong-way car were hospitalized with minor injuries, while the driver was uninjured and was later arrested on charges including driving under the influence, according to WCAX. No cause or charges have been reported in the Johnson Creek-area crash as the Technical Reconstruction Unit continues its work.
