Lake Mills Fire Department captain helping at Beltline crash killed by alleged drunken driver

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DAVID WAHLBERG and LOGAN WROGE Wisconsin State Journal

A Lake Mills Fire Department captain was killed Monday after he stopped at the scene of a crash on the Beltline and was struck by another vehicle, Monona police said. A vehicle crashed on eastbound Highway 12 near the Yahara River bridge at 6:51 p.m., police said. A second car stopped to assist at the scene, and the driver of the second car was struck by a third vehicle before officers arrived to help with the initial crash.

Lake Mills city attorney Daniel Drescher confirmed the driver of the second car was Lake Mills Fire Department Capt. Christopher Truman. Truman, 46, suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital where he died, the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Police said the driver of the third vehicle, Samuel Patrick Cremers, was arrested on tentative charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and causing injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle.

On Tuesday night the Lake Mills Fire Department shared a message from the family of the driver Truman was helping. The note, posted to the department's Facebook page, said Truman pulled in behind the woman and told her to get back in her car while he made a temporary repair. He told her he would follow her off the Beltline to safety. "My heart is in so much pain for all of you," the statement read. "He is my hero."

Drescher called Truman “a truly great guy,” adding that he was a “shirt off your back” type of person. “He’s just an excellent, excellent individual, very respected,” Drescher said. “This is a small community, and it’s pretty tough.” Truman had been volunteering with the Fire Department for more than 10 years and worked at the city’s parks department, he said. Members of the Fire Department met Tuesday morning, Drescher said, and “it was just heartbreaking looking at the reactions of people.”


Capt. Christopher Truman

https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime/lake-mills-fire-department-captain-helping-at-beltline-crash-killed/article_cb4ea9fc-4b64-573b-976e-cf99b05b1e81.html

[Archae]

1. We're stuck being a DUI state.

Too much "cultural" pressure to drink, and the Tavern League still has sway over our laws.

I just read about a guy here in Wisconsin busted for not having a license and his NINTH drunk-driving arrest.

[LakeArenal]

7. These guys usually have a :

A “We Back The Badge” “Blue Lives Matter” or “Hillary For Prison” sign in their yard

[3Hotdogs]

2. Sad,

Regarding D.U.I., my housemate got sick 12:30 a.m. Jan. 1st. Off to the E.R.

The E.R. served as a drunk tank for those walking or otherwise in public. Those driving, spent the night in the jail. E.R. staff spent much of the time trying to prevent the patients from leaving. That is because they would have been responsible if these bozos left and then got injured.

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4. Horrible weather, and a night when lots of people drink.

What could go wrong?

Years ago when I was a nursing assistant I took care of a young man who had been pulled from a burning wreck after a New Years Eve party. There was a head-on collision between the car he was riding in and a vehicle in oncoming traffic. There were 5 drunk college boys in the car he was in, which burst into flames. This young man was pulled out by a passerby, and he was the only survivor. He had lots of burns on his body, and lost most of his fingers.

He was so drunk he didn't remember the accident. I've never forgotten him because I was the same age and it really made an impression on me.

[LakeSuperiorView]

3. See the lights, then look away from them. Focus on the road.

Too many people stare at emergency vehicle lights and drive right into them, or people on the scene.

RIP, Capt. Truman.

[3Hotdogs]

5. I sometimes wonder if the lights are more a danger than helpful.

[LakeSuperiorView]

6. It's a fine line between enough to see and too much to see...

I seriously wonder how some people make it to their destinations without drooling all over themselves. Driving a car is probably the closest to a hypnotic state that many people experience.