A funeral service was held Wednesday for a 14-year-old girl from Waterford who died along with her cousin, 7, on Aug. 1 when the SUV they were riding in collided with a semitrailer truck in Whitewater.
Kaylinn Wilken, 14, of Waterford, and Olly Koelsch, 7, of Boise, Idaho, died in the crash, according to the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office. Kaylinn’s mother, Kristina Wilken, 44, her uncle, Michael Koelsch, 42 – the father of Olly Koelsch – and Olly’s twin sister were injured in the crash.
All three of the injured were taken to hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were not available.
A visitation and funeral for Kaylinn Wilken was scheduled for Wednesday evening at Daniels Family Funeral Home in Burlington.
Kaylinn was a recent graduate of Fox River Middle School in Waterford. Officials with the Waterford Graded School District offered counseling services to students in person or by phone on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wilken and Koelsch families during this difficult time,” school officials said in a statement posted to the district’s website.
The girls were riding in a 2003 Ford Excursion, which was towing a camper north on Highway 12, when the crash occurred about 7:30 p.m. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the SUV driven by Kristina Wilken turned left onto Walworth Avenue/Highway N in front of the oncoming semitrailer tanker truck.
The truck struck the SUV in the rear passenger side and both vehicles ended up in a ditch alongside the highway, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The three girls were in the back seat of the SUV and Michael Koelsch was in the front passenger seat.
The camper towed by the SUV suffered extensive damage in the intersection. The tanker pulled by the semi truck was empty at the time of the collision, according to officials.
The driver of the truck, Allen Guthrie, 56, of Elkhorn, was not injured.
The crash remains under investigation by the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigation Unit.
Agencies that assisted at the crash scene include: City of Whitewater Police and Fire and Rescue Departments, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Police Department, Rock County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Ryan Brothers Ambulance, Wisconsin State Patrol, and the Walworth County Medical Examiner’s Office.
