Four people were killed and one person was injured in a one-vehicle car crash that occurred on Saturday, February 18t, on Lacy Road in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
The victims of this tragedy have recently been identified by the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office as 17-year-old Martin Sanchez-Gutierrez, 18-year-old Jose Antonio Cabrere-Hernandez (both of Madison), 17-year-old Phankham Chitanavong, and 25-year-old Alan Michael Dickinson.
Victor H. Benitez, 18, was driving the car and has been charged with four counts of intoxicated use of a motor vehicle. Benitez is still at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and will, according to Fitchburg Police Sgt. Don Bomkamp, be booked into Dane County Jail in the next few days.
Though the Dane County Sheriff’s Office’s reconstruction of the crash is ongoing, Bomkamp says the crash occurred around five o’clock in the evening, not far from the intersection of South Syene Road.
A fatal collision occurred when Benitez crossed railroad tracks after running a stop sign while speeding, sending the car airborne and hitting a utility pole; the car then rolled over. The four victims were thrown from the car upon impact, and three died at the scene. The fourth was transported to a nearby hospital by helicopter, and was pronounced dead on Sunday, February 19.
Benitez left the scene following the crash and was found nearby by police. According to Bomkamp, the beer cans found at nearby McGaw Park, where the five were seen before the crash, match the brand of beer found at the scene of the collision.
The Madison personal injury attorneys at Hupy and Abraham extend their heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in this tragedy.