DWI chase ends in two-vehicle crash
NORTH HUDSON — When police in the St. Croix County village of North Hudson attempted to make a stop on a suspected intoxicated driver last Friday morning, the individual tried to allude authorities and initiated a chase that ended a short while later in a two-car crash.
48-year-old John Walter Halfmann of Bayport, MN lead North Hudson Police on a chase after he failed to yield to attempts to stop him for possible intoxicated use of a motor vehicle.
The pursuit began shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, April 3 said a release from the Wisconsin State Patrol – Eau Claire Post.
North Hudson Police pursued Halfmann, who was driving a 2007 Honda Odyssey, north on State Highway 35 where he eventually crossed into the southbound lane and struck an oncoming 2008 Kia Optima driven by Jessica B. Zillmer, 20 of Hudson, WI. Halfmann’s vehicle then veered off the roadway and crashed into a brick wall.
The accident happened about one mile south of County Highway E just north of North Hudson.
Zillmer was not injured in the accident but Halfmann received unspecified, life-threating injuries and was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, MN. Both drivers had been wearing seatbelts.
The State Patrol release stated that the North Hudson Police Department would be handling the traffic charges against Halfmann.
The North Hudson Police and Wisconsin State Patrol were assisted at the scene by the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, Stillwater, MN Police Department, St. Joseph Township Fire and Rescue and the Lakeview Hospital Ambulance.
