Two teenage boys injured when truck crashes into Boyceville Subway

By LeAnn R. Ralph

BOYCEVILLE  —  Two teenage boys were injured when a pickup truck crashed through the exterior wall of the Boyceville Subway restaurant at 5:50 p.m. Thursday, August 24.

According to the report from the Boyceville Police Department, two juvenile males were sitting at a table inside the restaurant when a 2014 brown Silverado pickup truck driven Marilyn Wheeler, 61, of Menomonie, crashed into the wall of the restaurant.

The police report does not list the ages of the teenagers, but one young man sustained what was described as a “minor incapacitating” injury and was transported from the scene by the Boyceville ambulance service.

The other young man, Jake Nadeau, 17, was transported by his mother, Barb Nadeau, by private vehicle to Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin where he was treated and released that evening.

Barb Nadeau has given permission for her son’s name to be included in this story.

According to his mother, Jake Nadeau felt fine later that evening but was stiff and sore the next day.

She said Jake, a senior at Glenwood City High School, was expected to return to cross country practice Monday.

Both boys were thrown out of the booth where they were sitting from the impact of the pickup truck, Barb Nadeau said.

According to the police report, prior to crashing into the wall of the Subway, Wheeler’s pickup truck had struck a silver 2007 Ford Focus driven by Kevin Jacobs, 52, of Boyceville, just as Jacobs was pulling away from a gas pump. Jean Jacobs, 51, was a passenger in the vehicle.

The Jacobs’ vehicle was described as having minor front end damage, and neither occupant of the car sustained any injuries, according to the police report.

The Silverado pickup truck was towed from the scene because of “disabling damage,” the report notes.

Wheeler did not appear to be intoxicated “but may have suffered from a medical issue that contributed to the accident,” the report states.

Wheeler was not tested for drugs or alcohol in her system and she “appeared normal (but) confused or disoriented,” according to the police report.

Wheeler was treated by EMTs at the scene but was not transported.

The impact of the Silverado damaged the exterior of the Subway restaurant and also caused damage inside the store, the report states.

As of Monday morning, August 28, Kyle Knutson, general manager at Cedar Country Cooperative, said he did not yet have an estimate of the damage.

About 30 feet of brick facade on the outside of the Boyceville Subway will need to be replaced, and about 50 feet of interior wall and drywall in the dining area will need to be replaced as well, he said.

The entryway door and window were displaced during the crash and will have to be reset, too, Knutson said.

Knutson said he and his son and an employee went to the Boyceville Subway Thursday evening and spent a substantial amount of time boarding up the wall and getting the building closed up.

“It was not how I had planned to spend my Thursday night,” Knutson said.

The Subway restaurant opened again the next day, he noted.

But while damage to the building was actually quite extensive, the good news is that no one was more seriously injured, Knutson said.

“It could have been so much worse,” he said.

Construction crews were expected to start repairing the damage Tuesday, August 29, Knutson said.

During the repair, the Subway may have temporary closings, but the closings will be minimal, he said.

“We will try to do everything we can to work around them,” Knutson said.