The semi-truck driver involved in a Sunday-morning crash on Interstate 94 that killed five people and injured 39, drove with a suspended license, according to a press release from the Wisconsin State Highway Patrol.
Michael John Kozlowski, 22, of Highland, Ind., was driving the truck, owned by Whole Food Products of Munster, Ind., when it left the road, overturned and then jackknifed, blocking the highway.
“Authorities tell us all have non-life threatening injuries.” –Vicki Lord Larson Interim Chancellor |
The chartered motor coach, carrying students, faculty members and chaperones of the Chippewa Falls High School marching band, then hit the underside of the truck.
UW-Eau Claire Senior Branden Atherton as well as Eau Claire alumnus and Chippewa Falls High School marching band director Douglas “G” Greenhalgh, 48, Chippewa Falls, died in the crash. Greenhalgh received his master’s degree in education-professional development from Eau Claire in 1998.
Greenhalgh’s wife, Therese Greenhalgh, 51, Chippewa Falls, and the couple’s granddaughter, Morgan Greenhalgh, 11, also died, as did the bus driver, Paul Rasmus, 78, Chippewa Falls.
Of the 29 individuals hospitalized as a result of the bus crash, five of them are current Eau Claire students.
The students include: senior Amy Bowen; junior Jessica Rozga, sophomore Andrew Sazama, sophomore Ruth Weiland and senior Ryan Wilson.
Brian “C” Collicott, a 1998 Eau Claire alumnus and assistant marching band director at Chippewa Falls High School also was injured in the crash.
“Authorities tell us all have non-life threatening injuries including broken bones, cuts and bruises,” wrote Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson in a message to the university community Oct. 17.
As of Wednesdayevening, Rozga remained hospitalized at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield. Bowen, Sazama, Weiland and Wilson all have been released.
A Web page created by Tom Arneberg, the father of a Chippewa High School band student, has provided a way to inform family, friends and community members of important updates related to the crash.
Senior Amy Bowen was released from Luther Hospital late Wednesday afternoon and is making steady progress, according her father, Steve Bowen, as stated on Arneberg’s Web page.
Steve Bowen was unavailable for additional comments.
Junior Jessica Rozga is listed in serious condition, according to officials at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield.
Rozga’s father, Tom Rozga, posted an update on the Web page Wednesday morning regarding her condition:
“(Tuesday) she had seven hours of surgery to repair a broken right hand and a fractured pelvis,” he wrote. “Now she just needs time to heal,” Tom Rozga wrote.
Rozga also was unavailable for additional comments.
Sophomore Andrew Sazama was released from Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse Sunday, according to his mother Mary Sazama. “He’s doing better than we had hoped,” she said.
Sazama suffered a broken fibula in his right leg and broken bones in his left hand and is currently recuperating at home, Mary Sazama said. He has now started putting weight on his right leg.
“He’s very fortunate,” she said.
Sophomore Ruth Weiland was released from Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., and is now recuperating at home with her family, according to the University News Bureau.
The Weiland family was also unavailable for additional comments.
Senior Ryan Wilson was treated and released as of Oct. 17, according to Larson’s message to the university.
The Wilson family was unable to be reached for an interview as of Wednesday evening.