Franklin man dies after multi-vehicle wreck in Menomonee Falls



MENOMONEE FALLS (WITI) -- Menomonee Falls officials say a 63-year-old Franklin man died from injuries he suffered in a multi-vehicle collision on southbound Hwy. 41/45 near Pilgrim Rd. on Sunday, December 8th. The victim's identity has not been released.

The snow caused two incidents on 41/45 on Sunday -- one near Lannon Rd. and another near Pilgrim.

A chain-reaction wreck happened near Lannon Rd. around 11:15 a.m. Within minutes, dozens of vehicles were involved.

Officials say besides the Franklin man, one other person suffered life-threatening injuries due to the incidents on 41/45. Many more were hurt.

Germantown police responded to the wreck near Lannon Rd., and said they were shocked by the number of stranded motorists just standing on Highway 41.

"We still have vehicles north of us, coming south and they're gonna be on top of us fairly quickly, and we have a lot of people outside vehicles at this point," Germantown Police Captain Mike Snow said.

Captain Snow says having dozens of people standing in and around the slippery roadway caused as much concern as the crash itself.

"There's no good place for you to go," Captain Snow said.

Captain Snow says only after members of law enforcement have secured the scene and permitted you to exit should you leave your vehicle.

"Stay in your vehicle and certainly, keep your seat belt fastened and make sure everybody in the vehicle has their seat belt fastened," Captain Snow said.

Homer Schultz' company, Homer's Towing and Service is working to repair vehicles damaged on Sunday.

He says in his 50 years of doing business -- he's never seen anything like what we saw on Sunday.

"I can't say where we've picked up 40 cars outta one accident! That's just extreme," Schultz said.

Separate crash scenes developed along U.S. 41/45 SB  on Sunday -- including incidents near Lannon Road and Pilgrim Road.

The Menomonee Falls Police Department's Traffic Unit is investigating all of the crashes.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.

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