A two-vehicle motor vehicle crash this morning on US 51 resulted in one person being transported via MedEvac helicopter, to Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
According to information released by the Merrill Fire Department Thursday afternoon, around 7:50 a.m. a motor vehicle crash involving two vehicles shut down US Highway 51 just outside the City of Merrill. The accident caused a complete shutdown of southbound traffic. Emergency responders converged on the scene which was just south of the southbound on-ramp from Highway 64. Lincoln County Sheriff and Wisconsin State Patrol arrived first, checking on potential patients and blocking traffic. When EMS arrived, patients were quickly tended to. Care was then focused on the driver of one of the vehicles involved. That driver had to be extricated from his vehicle and was treated by Merrill EMS until the MedEvac helicopter from Wausau could land on the highway. Patient care was transferred to the flight crew and the patient was flown to Aspirus-Wausau Hospital.
Other agencies that assisted with this significant accident were Pine River Fire Department, Merrill Police Department, Rod’s Towing, and Lincoln County Highway Department. All agencies worked together to quickly mitigate the incident and resume normal highway traffic as soon as possible. The driver of the other vehicle was evaluated and released. Law enforcement is continuing to investigate the cause of the accident.