Tue, Jul 8, 2003

Crash kills two

BY GENA KITTNER
Journal staff

Two teens died and two other people suffered minor injuries after a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon at the intersection of Brilowski Road and Highway HH.
A four-door sedan southbound on Brilowski Road was turning east on Highway HH in the path of a westbound dump truck traveling on Highway HH, according to a Portage County Sheriff's Department news release.
The dump truck, which was towing a front-end loader on a trailer, hit the car and flipped on its side, ending up in the eastbound lanes of Highway HH, said Portage County Sheriff John Charewicz. No names were available at the time of the report.
The woman driving the car did not yield to the truck, Charewicz said. "The truck tried to avoid contact with the vehicle," he said. Her view may have been partially blocked, he said. The intersection has a two-way stop at Brilowski Road.
A passenger in the car, a 16-year-old male from the town of Stockton, was killed instantly. A 15-year-old female passenger was ejected from the car and rushed to St. Michael's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the news release said. Neither was wearing a seat belt, according to the release.
The 34-year-old town of Alban man driving the truck and the 54-year-old Stevens Point woman driving the car were treated and released from St. Michael's Hospital. Both were wearing their seat belts.
Since Highway HH was made into four lanes, drivers sometimes have a hard time judging the speed and distance of oncoming cars, Charewicz said.
The intersection was closed for about six hours while the Sheriff's Department Technical Accident Investigation Team pro-cessed the crash scene. A light post was uprooted during the crash.
The Sheriff's Depart-ment reconstruced the crash, gathered information and interviewed witnesses, the sheriff said. Wisconsin State Patrol, Stevens Point Fire Depart-ment and the village of Whiting Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene.
 

Wed, Jul 9, 2003

Kropidlowski enjoyed driving, NASCAR

BY KATE GARSOMBKE AND GENA KITTNER
Journal staff

Brian Kropidlowski's family remembers him as a good, fun-loving young man, who made many friends with his kind heart.
Brian, 16, of Stockton, died Monday in a two-car crash at Brilowski and Highway HH in a collision with a dump truck. His girlfriend Alison Bielen, 15, Stevens Point, also was killed in the crash.
Like most 16-year-olds, Brian wasn't crazy about school, said his sister-in-law, Ashley Kropid-lowski. Still, he was scheduled to graduate from Amherst High School early this coming school year, she said.
"Brian was a good student," said John Haugen, district administrator for the Tomorrow River School District. "Obviously, we are all stunned here and saddened."
Amherst Principal Pete Sippel and counselor Becky Stratton will be available today for anyone who wants to talk, Haugen said. "We're here and available for friends and relatives," he said.
Some of Brian's hobbies included Chevy trucks and rooting for Dale Earnhardt.
Brian had just gotten his license, said Lisa Clementi, a family friend. He looked forward to driving around in a Chevy truck that had been passed down from brother to brother, Clementi said. His brother was teaching him how to fix vehicles, too, she said.
He loved fishing, and he took Clementi's child fishing with him. He also liked snowmobiling, motorcycling, biking, fishing and farming.
Friends and family say they are upset that they don't know the details of how Brian died and what injuries he suffered in the crash.
"There are a lot of unanswered questions," Clementi said. "We don't even know how he died. We're waiting for the police report. We want to know if he suffered."