Driver dies in ejection from vehicle

On Sunday, Nov. 3, at about 3:40 a.m., the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call of a one vehicle traffic crash on State Highway 171 near Old 61, in the township of Clayton. The caller stated the driver of the vehicle was possibly ejected.

Officials later determined that Steve A. Collins, 48, of Gays Mills, was operating a 2013 Jeep Wrangler eastbound on Highway 171. The vehicle went off the right side of the roadway, striking a fire number. The vehicle then reentered the roadway before going off a short, steep embankment and back into the eastbound lane. The vehicle began sliding in the roadway, slid across the highway causing the passenger tires to dig into the shoulder of the roadway and making the vehicle overturn. Collins was ejected from the vehicle as a result of the rollover. 

First Responders arrived on scene, rendered aid and transported Collins to Vernon Memorial Hospital in Viroqua, where he was pronounced dead. 

Assisting on the scene was North Crawford Rescue, Soldiers Grove Fire Department, Tri-State Ambulance and Milo’s Towing.