1 person dead after Sunday crash in Sparta

SPARTA, Wis. (WEAU) - One person is dead and another is seriously hurt after a single-vehicle crash in Sparta Sunday.

According to a release by the Sparta Police Department, 67-year-old Mary Slonka of rural Sparta died after the vehicle she was in crashed Sunday morning. Another person in the vehicle, 67-year-old Timothy Slonka, also of rural Sparta, was airlifted to a hospital with critical injuries.

Police arrived on the scene of the crash, which happened on Highway 16/Wisconsin Street at the intersection with Aspen Boulevard on the west side of Sparta, at 10:40 a.m. Sunday. First responders said a vehicle was on fire with two people inside and saw bystanders working to pull the two people inside out of the car before it caught completely on fire. A fire hydrant near the crash was sheared off and found inside of a nearby vacant building.

The crash is under investigation by the Sparta Police Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol. Assisting with the crash were the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, Sparta Area Ambulance, Wisconsin State Patrol Reconstruction Unit, Monroe County 911 Communications Center, Sparta Area Fire, Sparta Public Works, Gundersen Air, Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.

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