Massive pile-up in Outagamie Co.

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY - Authorities say 16 people have injuries after a multi-vehicle crash in Outagamie County on Highway 41 north, near Highway 55 in the Kaukauna area.

The weather is being blamed the two crashes on Highway 41 Friday morning.

“I would say probably the fog this morning is your primary cause of this accident,” said Gene Prellwitz, Kaukauna Fire Department.
Authorities say the first call of a multiple-car crash came in around 7:45 a.m. It happened in the northbound lanes of Highway 41 near Highway 55. 31 vehicles were involved.

“It was within a short time after being here we got a report of a second accident and we started moving people around accordingly to get them to respond to both accidents,” said Prellwitz.

The second crash also happened in the northbound lanes of Highway 41 - south of the first crash at CC. Officials say 7 vehicles were involved in that crash.

The fog burned off and you could see all of the cars and wreckage authorities said it's a miracle no one was more seriously injured.

“I've had a lot of years in this and I've been involved in a couple of these so yes looking over what we had when we got here I’m really glad to see that we only had minor injuries,” said Prellwitz.

Rescue crews extricated two people from their vehicles. 16 people were treated at area hospitals. Most had bumps and bruises and have been released. One person remains in serious condition at Appleton Medical Center. Staff there say they were prepared to respond.

“We have a process in place anytime the emergency department would be overwhelmed by the volume or the seriousness of the patients that come in so staff train on a regular basis to adapt to those situations,” said Jean Coopman, Appleton Medical Center.

Appleton Medical Center brought in additional staff and resources to deal with multiple incoming patients. Back at the scene authorities say they also had plenty of resources to deal with their first crash of this magnitude. Looking to the future police offered some advice for motorists.

“Obviously when we have fog to this nature, taking your time along with staying a very safe distance and avoid traveling is probably your best bet especially on the major highways,” said Kevin Shepardson, Kaukauna Assistant Chief of Police.

The highway opened back up to traffic around 2:40 Friday afternoon.

The State Patrol and the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department are reconstructing the two crash sites.