Wisconsin man charged in fatal US 51 accident

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — A Schofield, Wisconsin, man is facing charges in Iron County Court for his role in a fatal accident south of Hurley that closed a portion of U.S. 51 for several hours last October.

Joshua L. Shields, 25, is facing one count of homicide by vehicle-use of a controlled substance, a felony that carries a maximum punishment of up to 25 years in prison or a $100,000 fine.

Shields is charged in connection to a multi-car crash on U.S. 51 at Spruce Road in Oma on Oct. 1.

Iron County Dispatch received reports of the crash around 5 p.m., and dispatched members of the Hurley Police Department and Iron County Sheriff’s Office to the scene.

Those arriving on the scene observed an SUV in the middle of the highway with major front and rear damage and an unresponsive woman slumped over the center console towards the front passenger seat, according to the complaint, as well as a white van on the west side of U.S. 51 and a white truck with a utility box on the east side of the road.

The driver of the truck told deputies that he was driving north on U.S. 51 when he saw a vehicle get rear-ended into his lane, the complaint reads, and he hit it head on after being unable to stop or swerve around it.

Other drivers traveling behind the white truck that witnessed the accident said the SUV was waiting to make a left turn east onto Spruce Road when it was hit in the rear by the white van Shields was allegedly driving. The force of the accident pushed the SUV into the northbound lane, the witnesses said, where it was hit a second time by the white truck.

Both Shields and the driver of the white truck allegedly agreed to give blood samples and were taken to Aspirus Ironwood Hospital for the procedure and then to the sheriff’s department.

At the sheriff’s department, Shields allegedly spoke to sheriff’s department staff while waiting for his father to pick him up, according to the complaint.

“Shields stated he had smoked marijuana at approximately 3 p.m. on Sept. 20,” the complaint reads. “When asked what had occurred, Shields stated while driving, he reached down to get a water bottle and when he looked up he saw the vehicle in front of him. He tried to stop, but rear ended the vehicle and he went off the roadway and didn’t see what happened after.”

The complaint said the woman driving the SUV was taken to Aspirus Ironwood Hospital by ambulance shortly after first responders arrived on the scene. She was later transferred by helicopter to Aspirus Wausau, where she died. According to the complaint, the death scene investigation report that the sheriff’s department received last week said she died at 8:23 p.m. from multiple blunt force trauma injuries sustained during the accident.

The sheriff’s department received the results of Shields’ blood draw in March, which indicated he had THC in his blood at the time of the accident.

Shields is scheduled to appear in Iron County Court May 10.