75-year-old man died after hitting deer while driving them away from the highway

TURTLE LAKE, Wis. (WEAU/Gray News) – A man trying to remove a hit deer from a Wisconsin highway was killed when he was struck by passing vehicles.

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department said a truck first hit the deer Tuesday evening on U.S. Highway 8 at 2nd Street near Turtle Lake.

Following multiple calls regarding the traffic accident, Turtle Lake emergency personnel, local police and a medical helicopter responded to the scene.

According to the sheriff’s department, the truck driver and a passerby set out to remove the deer.

The truck driver, identified by Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald as a 75-year-old Cameron man, was later hit by two passing vehicles. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The drivers of the other vehicles were identified as a 48-year-old man from Rice Lake and a 62-year-old man from Almena.

The highway was closed for more than 4 hours.

The sheriff’s department said it appeared to be a “tragic accident” but that the incident would be investigated by the Barron County District Attorney’s Office.

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