CASCO, Green Bay County, Wis., Sept. 24, 2026 — Two drivers were taken to a Green Bay hospital after a pickup truck and a semi carrying liquid manure collided on Tuesday afternoon, September 22, at a rural intersection in the Town of Casco.
The Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department said it received a call around 2:16 p.m. reporting a crash at the intersection of County Rd C and County Rd K. Early reports had indicated the pickup's driver was ejected, but the sheriff's office later said that information was incorrect.
A preliminary investigation found an 80-year-old man driving a 2014 Dodge pickup had been headed westbound on County Rd K and stopped at the controlled intersection before pulling forward, when a 2009 Peterbilt semi traveling southbound on County Rd C struck the truck, according to the sheriff's department. The semi was driven by a 25 year old man from Green Bay.
Both vehicles left the roadway after the impact, and the semi, which was hauling liquid manure, rolled over into a ditch alongside the road, authorities said. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources responded to help contain the spill, and the Kewaunee County Highway Department assisted with traffic control at the scene.
Both drivers were taken to a medical facility in Green Bay. The extent of their injuries has not been released. The Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department said the crash remains under investigation.
We wish the injured a complete and speedy recovery.
What Actually Cuts Down on Serious Truck Underride Crashes
Severe injuries in truck crashes usually come down to a mismatch in height and weight between vehicles. When a pickup or car ends up underneath a semi's trailer, or when a heavy truck rolls and lands on or near a smaller vehicle, the smaller vehicle's structure and airbags cannot do the job they were designed for. That override and underride dynamic, rather than speed alone, is a major reason these crashes turn serious.
Engineers and safety agencies have found real gains from a handful of road design changes. Better sight lines and reflective signal heads at rural stop-controlled intersections give drivers more time to judge a truck's speed and distance. Roundabouts, where they replace crossing traffic patterns, cut the kind of right-angle collisions that lead to overrides. Rear and side underride guards on trailers, along with median barriers on higher-speed roads, are also credited with reducing how usually these crashes turn fatal.
Driver behavior still matters alongside the engineering. Following distance, brake maintenance on heavy trucks, and simply yielding the extra few seconds it takes to judge a semi's closing speed at a rural crossing all factor into whether a collision stays minor or becomes something worse.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 17 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred at intersections in 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an underride crash?
An underride crash happens when a smaller vehicle slides partly or fully beneath a truck trailer during a collision, usually because the trailer sits higher than the smaller vehicle's crumple zones and airbags are built to handle.
What typically causes large truck crashes?
Common factors include driver fatigue, following too closely, brake or equipment problems, and difficulty judging a truck's speed at intersections, especially where sight lines are limited.
Does driver fatigue play a role in these crashes?
Yes. Federal data has repeatedly linked long duty hours and irregular schedules for commercial drivers to slower reaction times and lapses in attention, both of which raise crash risk.
How can drivers safely share the road with trucks?
Leaving extra following distance, avoiding a truck's blind spots, and giving trucks more time to complete turns or stops all reduce the chance of a serious collision.
What to Do After a Truck Crash in Casco, Wisconsin
Anyone involved in a crash with a semi should call 911 right away, even if injuries are not immediately obvious. Adrenaline can mask pain from an impact, and some injuries take hours to show symptoms, so a medical evaluation the same day is worth doing even if someone feels fine.
Stay as far from moving traffic and any leaking cargo as possible while waiting for help, and let responders know if you smell fuel or see fluid pooling near the vehicles. Once the scene is cleared, keep copies of any police report and medical records, and follow up with your own doctor if new symptoms appear in the days after the crash.
