County snow plow rear-ended in I-94 crash

A Kenosha County Public Works snow plow was involved in a crash on I-94 early Thursday morning.

Lt. Nathan Clark of Wisconsin State Patrol said a patient or patients were transported to a local hospital from the crash, but he could not say who from information available to him at the time of our interview. Ray Arbet, county director of public works, said the plow driver was not injured.

The snow plow was southbound on Interstate 94 at about Highway E,  applying salt and brine when it was struck in the rear by a pick-up truck, said Arbet in an email statement to westofthei.com. All safety/warning lights on the plow were on and working properly.

The collision caused “significant damage to the rear-mounted ice-control mechanism on our truck and extensive damage to the commercial pick-up driver’s truck,” Arbet said.

Paris Fire and Rescue responded to the scene. Investigation of the crash was handled by Wisconsin State Patrol because it involved a county vehicle, said Sgt. Eric Klinkhammer, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department public information hearing.

“Given the weather/road conditions and the fact that this accident occurred during a heavy commuter travel time on the interstate – we are fortunate that this accident’s negative impact was fairly limited,” Arbet said.

Fluid leaking from the plow truck was determined to be a substance used for road treatment and not hazardous, Clark said.

State Patrol was dispatched to the scene at about 5:30 a.m., Clark said. Two lanes were closed until about 7:20 a.m.

Arbet had this advice for driving while plows are nearby:

We always urge the motoring public to exercise extra caution during snow/ice events – and to be mindful of all vehicles involved in snow/ice-control activities.  Good general guidelines are to remain at least 100 feet behind the vehicle and never pass a vehicle actively engaged in snow/ice-control unless a medical emergency warrants such action.”