GERMANTOWN — The Kewaskum brothers involved in the bad car crash Wednesday on Interstate 41 just south of Holy Hill Road have been identified, according to Germantown Police.
The driver of the vehicle was Giovanni J. Olla, 16. The passengers were Valentin V. Olla, 15, Vitale R. Olla, 7, Alessandra D. Olla, 9, and Luciano C. Olla, 13.
Giovanni, who is licensed, Vitale and Alessandra were released from the hospital. Chief Peter Hoell of the Germantown Police Department says speed could be a factor in the crash but otherwise was legal.
"He has a valid license," Hoell said. "The fact he had his four brothers in the vehicle is in line with the law. They didn't do anything illegal as far as that aspect goes."
Valentin and Luciano are in critical condition. Germantown Police say these boys were two of the three ejected from the vehicle. Alessandra was seated in the front seat and police believe he may have been ejected from the vehicle as well, though they continue to investigate.
The boys are from a large family of 10 brothers and sisters. They are well known in the Kewaskum and Germantown communities; the latter is where they were heading for soccer practice with FC Wisconsin, a high-level traveling youth soccer club.
"It was just really shocking because it was an average Wednesday and this awful tragedy happened," said Emma Jaskaniec, a player on the girls FC Wisconsin team. "It kind of sent a shock through everybody on the girls side and guys side."
Jaskaniec says she doesn't know the Olla boys personally, but the crash has rattled them all.
"Everybody on my team and everyone on the club is like family," Jaskaniec said. "Practice ended early and we looked over and all of (the boys) are kneeling on the floor, some are in tears. It was a really hard sight to see."
Back in Kewaskum, the school district has grief counselors on standby for students who know the Ollas. The boys are homeschooled, but in this tight-knit community, everyone knows everyone.
"It doesn't matter if they come to school here," Kewaskum School District Superintendent James Smasal said. "They're part of our community."
Smasal says he's already received many calls from families in the area looking to see how they can help the Ollas. He says they're waiting to see what's best for the Ollas as they continue fighting for their two sons in critical condition.
"When something horrific like this happens, they're connected to a lot of people and those people want to help," Smasal said. "We're a smaller community. We're close-knit. People want to be made aware of things so they can help out. There's been an outpour [sic] of well wishes already, calling up to see how they can help. We respectfully tell them, until we know what the families want, we stand at the ready."
"It was just really shocking because it was an average Wednesday and this awful tragedy happened. It kind of sent a shock through everybody on the girls side and guys side." — Emma Jaskaniec, a player on the girls FC Wisconsin team
Police believe the vehicle was going at a high rate of speed and changing lanes. The area of I-41 has been notorious for bad crashes. However, the state installed a different surface for added traction during slippery conditions. Wednesday, the weather conditions were ideal.
"Over the years it's been problematic," Hoell said. "We've had a number of fatals on that curve. Most of those fatals are from snowy or rainy conditions. We have not had a fatal since they've done those improvements on that stretch of road."
The brothers said they were coming from Kewaskum on the way to soccer practice.
