OSHKOSH, Wis. — The driver of a tractor-trailer whose vehicle crashed into a home last month, killing an 8-month-old baby, fainted due to a medical condition, authorities said.
According to a report released by the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, the 63-year-old man from Little Chute lost consciousness and his vehicle veered off Interstate 41 in Vinland on July 25, WLUK-TV reported. The vehicle crashed through a fence line, crossed a nearby frontage road and smashed into a house in the town of Vinland, just north of Oshkosh, according to WGBA-TV.
The impact of the crash killed 8-month-old Martin Edward Stechner III, according to WBAY-TV. The child was pronounced dead at the scene, WITI-TV reported.
The driver’s identity has not been released. He suffered minor injuries, according to WBAY.
A newly released crash report says the driver of a semi fainted due to a medical condition before the truck crashed into a house, killing a baby in Winnebago County: https://t.co/6uxMdBzYqb pic.twitter.com/sCi1YsOoah
— WLUK-TV FOX 11 (@fox11news) August 3, 2022
“I thought he was pulling over out of traffic and that was it,” Teresa Rapp, who witnessed the crash, told WLUK. “I just kept watching him because he just kept drifting over and further over, and over -- hit the fence and then went over that little road there. Then, all of a sudden, a small little jerk to the right, and he went right into the house.
“I am a little shaken; I have grandchildren of my own,” Rapp told the television station. “To have an accident happen like that, it’s gut-wrenching -- kind of makes you look at your blessings a bit little closer every day now.”
The driver’s daughter, who asked for anonymity, told WLUK that her father was “mentally torn up from the situation.”
The woman told the television station that her father “has had more than 30 years of safe driving experience,” adding that the man’s condolences “are with the family affected.”
According to his obituary, the baby, who is survived by his parents and three sisters, “was our amazing roaring little lion who had just said his first words, ‘Mama.’”
An online fundraiser has been established for the family of the child. Solutions Recovery, which is handling the fundraiser, said 100% of the proceeds would go to the Stechner family.
©2022 Cox Media Group
