4 Vehicle Crash with injuries in Grant County

A four-vehicle crash closed Highway 80 at the intersection with County Highway A in Platteville Township Thursday for over 5 hours. The crash happened at about 8:25am north of Platteville. According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, 23 year old Ryan Oberhoffer of Dubuque was traveling south on Highway 80 in his company’s semi and pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with a Freightliner water truck. At the same time, 28 year old Clayton Morby of Salem, Wisconsin was traveling east on County Highway A in his company’s work truck. Morby did not see the stop sign and drove right into the intersection at highway speeds and drove right in front of Oberhoffer’s semi. Oberhoffer t-boned Morby’s vehicle on the driver’s side. Morby’s vehicle went airborne, struck a power pole approximately 20 feet up, and landed on the banks of the Little Platte River. The power pole broke in half and the lines came down. Oberhoffer’s semi jack-knifed, coming to rest against the guardrail on the east side of the road. At the same time, 66 year old Charles Johnson of Dubuque was traveling north in his company’s International semi and got hung up in the downed power lines and stretched them even farther. As Johnson’s semi stretched the lines it ripped more power lines off of the poles on County Highway A, bringing them down on top of a vehicle driven by 79 year old Janice Staskal of Lancaster. Staskal and her passenger were not injured. Johnson’s truck had minor damages from the power lines. Johnson also was not injured. Morby was entrapped in his vehicle and was extricated by Platteville JAWS. Oberhoffer and Morby were both taken to Southwest Health in Platteville for their injuries. Morby was later med-flighted to Madison. All the individuals involved with the crash were wearing their seatbelts. Highway 80 and County Highway A remained closed until about 2:00pm as Heavy Rescue crews recovered the heavily damaged vehicles. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Platteville Fire Department, Platteville JAWS, Livingston First Responders, the Livingston Fire Department, Southwest Health EMS, Guys Towing and Service of Kieler, Wenzel Family Towing of Dubuque, Alliant Energy, and the Wisconsin State Patrol. The crash remains under investigation.