Wrong-Way Drunk Driver Collides With Semi On I-43: Report

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WI -- According to Milwaukee County Sheriff's officials, just after midnight on Sep. 14, squads responded to a report of a wrong-way driver on I-43 in the northbound lanes at the Ozaukee County line.

Authorities are reporting that the driver of the wrong-way vehicle, Jacqueline Degenhardt, age 54, of Milwaukee, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and cited for driving while under the influence.

As deputies responded to the call, they learned that the driver of the vehicle was heading south in the northbound lanes, and had just crashed into a semi-trailer truck near Green Tree Road.

The North Shore Fire Department responded to extricate the driver of the Honda Crossover from her vehicle and she was taken to the hospital. Patrol squads shut down the freeway and diverted traffic off at N. Silver Spring Road until the freeway reopened at 4:15 a.m.

Authorities said that the driver of the semi was not injured, but the semi sustained extensive damage. The
rear wheels and axle were sheared off the trailer by the striking vehicle. North Shore Fire cleaned up the seven-gallon diesel spill. A preliminary investigation revealed that witnesses initially saw the vehicle going the wrong way about 10 miles north of the crash.

Milwaukee County Sheriff's Photo