One killed, two injured in rollover

By Aldrich M. Tan • of The Northwestern

May 5, 2008

An Oshkosh man died in an accident early Sunday in the town of Utica.

Christopher Post, 19, died in the rollover of a white 1991 Chevrolet Blazer at 5:30 a.m. on State Highway 44 just south of Bonnie View Road, Lori Seiler, a Winnebago County Sheriff's Department deputy, said Sunday.

The Chevrolet Blazer was traveling northbound on Highway 44, Lt. John Zimmerman of the Sheriffs Department said. According to its tire marks, the car drove off the right side of the road, crossed back into the northbound traffic lane, then crossed over to the southbound lane. The driver over-corrected, lost control, and the vehicle rolled into the southbound side’s ditch.

The car’s three occupants, including Post, were ejected from the vehicle, Winnebago County Coroner Barry Busby said.

Post was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:40 a.m. Busby said it appeared Post died of head injuries, and an autopsy will be done today to determine the cause of death.

Two other vehicle occupants were seriously injured. Travis Pfalzgraf, 19, was flown by ThedaStar helicopter to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah. Kala Miller, 19, was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh with serious medical injuries.
Both were updated later Sunday from “serious critical” to “serious.”

The incident still is under investigation.
For four hours, officers had to close Highway 44 and detour vehicles around the crash scene during accident reconstruction, Zimmerman said.

He said no one was wearing a seat belt.

Responders included the Town of Utica Volunteer Fire Department, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, the Oshkosh Fire Department, First Responders from the town of Utica, and ThedaStar, Zimmerman said.

This is the third traffic fatality reported in the county this year.

There were 15 fatalities last year, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Web site.

— Aldrich M. Tan: (920) 426-6663 or atan@thenorthwestern.com