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

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