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Trucker crushed after load shifted following crash in Wisconsin

An Illinois truck driver was killed after he failed to negotiate a curve, crashed into a tree and was crushed by a shifting load.

Grant County, WI, Sheriff Nathan Dreckman told “Land Line Now” that Michael Schoenbeck, 38, of Grant Park, IL, was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:49 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3. The crash occurred on Highway 18 in Mount Ida Township, WI.

“It appears the truck went off the road. There’s no apparent skid marks or anything. It just went directly off the road and struck head-on with a very large tree that was in the yard of a residence there,” Dreckman said.

Dreckman told Land Line that Schoenbeck, who drove for Ray Dettmering Farms of Peotone, IL, was driving a 2000 Peterbilt. His flatbed trailer was loaded with 16 railcar wheels and axles, which weighed nearly 3,000 pounds apiece.

According to information on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website, Dettmering Farms is a small company with six trucks. The company’s carrier registration, which was updated on March 22, shows the company was high in three BASICs of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program. The company had a 71 percent in unsafe driving, a 98.1 percent in hours-of-service compliance, and an 83.1 percent in vehicle maintenance.

“Land Line Now” Staff Reporter Reed Black contributed to this report.

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