A Waukesha County intersection was shut down for more than two hours Tuesday evening, after a crash involving an SUV and motorcycle severely injured a man.
Investigators say the driver of the SUV was turning eastbound on Highway 59 (Genesee Road) from Merrill Hills Road and drove in front of the motorcycle that was traveling westbound on Highway 59.
The man on the motorcycle, a 59-year-old from North Prairie, was taken to Froedtert Hospital by Flight for Life. He is being treated for serious injuries.
The 22-year-old man from South Prairie who was driving the SUV was not injured.
Ronald and Ginger Agen, who live just a block from where the crash occurred, missed being caught in it themselves by seconds.
“It happened right behind us,” Ronald said. “We had just come through there. We pulled in our driveway and heard the impact. When we looked back, we saw a man in the road. Thrown from a bike. I get choked up just thinking about it.”
The couple owns a motorcycle and Ronald was in an accident in the very same intersection last year.
“A guy came right through a stop sign and hit me,” he said. “Drivers and motorcycle riders come down Highway 59 going 70 or 80 miles per hour every day. It’s hard for us to pull out of our driveway.”
Tuesday night, while watching the crash response, they said a sheriff’s deputy was almost hit by a speeding truck.
“We heard the brakes screeching,” Ginger said. “The truck was going so fast. He must not have noticed traffic was stopping because of an accident. He hit the brakes so hard, the truck spun around. It was on two wheels and almost went into a ditch. It was a close call for the deputy directing traffic.”
They wonder what it’s going to take before something is done.
“Unless they put up stoplights, I don’t know what they can really do about it,” Ginger said. “If they lower the speed limit, I don’t think it would even matter.”
“People on the roads these days are crazy,” Ronald said. “Everyone needs to slow down, give more space, and be aware of everything around you. Don’t be in such a rush.”
