Fatal Crash in Price County Leaves One Dead, Child Injured

A Sunday afternoon crash on a rural Price County intersection claimed the life of a 74-year-old Kennan woman and sent three others to the hospital, including a 13-year-old boy.

The collision happened just before 1 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 111 and County Road J in the Town of Harmony. Multiple 911 calls brought sheriff’s deputies and emergency responders to the scene where two vehicles had collided.

The woman was driving a Town and Country minivan and was the only occupant of her vehicle. She died in the crash.

Three Family Members Transported to Hospital

The other vehicle, a Volkswagen SUV, carried three people who all sustained serious injuries in the collision.

A 57-year-old man, a 54-year-old woman, and the teenage boy were transported to a local hospital. The Price County Sheriff’s Office has not released details about their current conditions or whether they’ve since been transferred to regional trauma centers.

In rural Northwoods counties like Price, serious crashes often mean longer transport times to advanced medical care. The nearest Level II trauma center is in Wausau, roughly an hour’s drive from the Harmony area.

Investigation Underway on Quiet Country Roads

The intersection where the crash occurred sits in one of Price County’s more remote corners, east of Phillips and surrounded by forest land.

Highway 111 and County Road J form a typical Northwoods crossroads — two-lane blacktop cutting through pine and hardwood stands, with minimal shoulder and the kind of sight-line challenges that come with rolling terrain and tree coverage.

The sheriff’s office hasn’t released information about what caused the collision. Standard crash investigations examine:

• Speed and travel direction of both vehicles
• Road and weather conditions at the time
• Possible distraction or impairment factors
• Mechanical issues or vehicle condition
• Intersection visibility and signage

Those answers typically emerge only after investigators complete their reconstruction work and review all available evidence.

When Rural Crashes Hit Close to Home

Small Northwoods communities feel crashes differently than urban areas do. In places like Kennan and the surrounding townships, everybody knows somebody.

A fatal collision involving a local senior and an injured child ripples through church pews, school hallways, and Friday night fish fries. These aren’t just statistics in a county crash report.

In Price County’s dispersed landscape, residents travel long distances for work, groceries, medical appointments, and school activities — putting thousands of vehicle miles on rural roads each year.

According to University of Wisconsin–Madison transportation data, Price County actually has a lower injury and fatal crash rate than the statewide average when measured per vehicle mile traveled. But when serious crashes do happen, the consequences can be more severe due to response times and distance to advanced medical care.

Reporting and Response in Wisconsin’s Northwoods

Wisconsin law requires drivers to report any crash involving injury or death to law enforcement immediately.

The Price County Sheriff’s Office handles most crash investigations on county and state highways within its jurisdiction, coordinating with local fire departments and ambulance services when injuries are involved.

Sunday’s collision likely closed or restricted traffic at the Highway 111 and County Road J intersection for several hours while investigators documented the scene and crews cleared debris.

For travelers in the Northwoods, that’s a reminder of how quickly a Sunday drive through the pines can turn into a detour — or something far worse.

Moving Forward on Northwoods Roads

The investigation into Sunday’s crash continues, and the sheriff’s office will eventually release more details about what led to the collision.

For now, a family waits for loved ones to heal, and a community mourns the loss of a neighbor. The wooded intersection of Highway 111 and County Road J will return to its usual quiet, but the impact of what happened there won’t soon fade.

If you’re traveling Price County’s back roads this week, take a moment to slow down at those rural intersections. The next car coming through might be carrying somebody’s grandma heading home from church, or a family on their way to the lake.

Up here, we share these roads with neighbors. Let’s make sure everybody gets where they’re going.