Four people – including three members of a Delavan family – were killed in a three-vehicle crash in the Town of Sharon.
The crash occurred at about 11:45 a.m. Saturday at County Highway K and Town Hall Road and involved a semi, a pick-up truck and a sport utility vehicle, according to the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office.
Eight people including two children occupied the three vehicles at the time of the crash, which resulted in four fatalities, multiple injuries and people trapped in the vehicles, according to the sheriff’s department.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a fully loaded semi-truck and trailer were northbound on Highway K approaching the intersection with Townhall Road, according to the department. The semi had the right of way as there is no stop sign for traffic on Highway K at that intersection.
Both occupants of the semi – the driver, Jerry Morris, 52, of Elkhorn, and a passenger, Kevin Grethe, 46, of Sparta – survived but were taken to area trauma centers with multiple injuries, according to a press release. A 2011 red Chevy 2500 pickup truck was eastbound on Townhall Road and failed to yield from a posted stop sign. The semi collided with the passenger side of the pick-up in a “t-bone” manner.
Three members of Delavan family that occupied the pick-up truck died – Carlos Venegas, 26, his wife, Maria, 28, and their 2-year-old son, Carlos Jr. The Venegas’ daughter, Giselle, 6, survived the crash but was taken by Flight for Life to an area trauma center with critical injuries.
A third vehicle, which was a 2006 GMC Envoy, was southbound on Highway K and was also involved in the crash. The driver Carol Terry, 67, of Rockford, Ill., died. The passenger, her husband, Mark Terry, 68, of Rockford, Ill., remained in critical condition Monday at an area trauma center, according to the sheriff’s department.
The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigation Unit and the Walworth County Medical Examiner’s Office continue to investigate the incident.
A fundraiser will take place for the Venegas family from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 13 at Hernandez Restaurant in Delavan. The restaurant will offer a beef and chicken burrito dinner with rice and beans for $12 plus soda and adult beverages for purchase, and 30 percent of the proceeds with go to the family to pay for funeral expenses and medical care for Giselle.
