APPLETON (NBC 26) — UPDATE #3: A dump truck crashed through a cement wall along Highway 441 in Appleton on Tuesday afternoon, killing the driver. No other people were hurt, and no other vehicles were involved.
The crash happened along Park Hills Drive, where the truck broke through the cement wall lining the highway.
Wisconsin State Patrol Lieutenant Andrew Hyre, executive officer of the Northeast Region, confirmed the driver was the only person in the vehicle.
"We are investigating a fatality today that originated on [highway] 441," Hyre said.
Hyre said the investigation is in its early stages.
"It's in the initiation stages of the investigation, it's going to take awhile to determine eventually what happened," Hyre said.
Preston Kemp, an Appleton resident, was walking nearby when the crash happened. He called police and rushed to help.
"We were walking, we just got to the corner of the overpass to go across and that's when I heard a loud sound, the tire blew, so then I looked and I seen him run off the road and go and all I seen was a huge cloud of dirt," Kemp said.
"We came running back down the overpass, calling the police, we came down here to see if we could help out. We did what we could. From what I seen I couldn't see a driver in the cabin, we were trying to pull pieces from the wall," Kemp said.
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Dan Paulik, another Appleton resident, witnessed the crash from the highway.
"I was driving down the highway, it looked like he veered off, could see a couple of tracks. He hit the cement wall, the truck flipped over and was sitting sideways like this… It looks like he had sand or something," Paulik said.
Highway 441 closed for about an hour while Appleton Fire, Appleton Police, and Wisconsin State Patrol responded to the scene. State Patrol is continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.
UPDATE #2: Appleton police have released more information about a Tuesday afternoon crash involving a dump truck on Highway 441.
According to police, emergency crews were dispatched at around 12:20 p.m. to southbound Highway 441 near Telulah Avenue for an overturned dump truck.
The driver died at the scene. No other vehicles were involved.
Police also thanked passing drivers who stopped to assist at what they described as a “very challenging” crash scene.
The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Appleton Police Department at 920-832-5500.
NBC 26's Kyle Langellier will have more on this story coming up at NBC 26 News at 5 and 6.
UPDATE: All lanes have reopened.
A Wisconsin State Patrol official tells NBC 26 the crash was fatal and is under investigation.
NBC 26's Kyle Langellier will have more on this story coming up at NBC 26 News at 6.
ORIGINAL REPORTING: A crash on southbound Highway 441 at Calumet Street is causing traffic delays Tuesday afternoon in Appleton.
Police are asking drivers to use alternative routes and expect delays in the area as the roadway is now fully closed.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the closure is expected to last more than two hours.
