PLATTEVILLE — An 82-year-old Blanchardville man died in a crash at U.S. 151 and Grant County O southwest of Platteville Dec. 11.
Dennis Novinski was killed when his pickup truck was hit by a car owned by Meredith Corporation of Des Moines, Iowa, and driven by Courtney Yuskis, 31, Des Moines, around 3:33 p.m., according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department.
Novinski pulled from O to 151 when Yuskis’ car hit Novinski’s truck, causing the truck to roll onto its side in the 151 median, according to the sheriff’s department.
Immediately after the crash, three drivers, including a Cuba City volunteer firefighter, stopped at the scene and tried to remove Novinski from the truck by removing its windshield. However, the truck caught fire, and the three were unable to remove Novinski from the truck.
Novinski was identified by dental records after an autopsy last Wednesday. The autopsy determined Novinski died of multiple internal injuries before the fire, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Yuskis was taken by Platteville EMS to Southwest Health Center for treatment of minor injuries.
Seat belts were used by both drivers, and neither alcohol nor speed are considered to be a contributing factor to Novinski’s death, according to the sheriff’s department.
Novinski was the owner of the Blanchardville Blade newspaper from 1960 to 1975. He purchased the Montfort Mail in 1954, and before that worked at the Grant County Independent in Lancaster and the Muscoda Progressive.
Novinski is the fourth fatality on Grant County highways this year.
The sheriff’s department, Platteville Fire Department, UW–Platteville police, and the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted at the crash scene.
• A second crash occurred at the scene, with no injuries.
According to the sheriff’s department, Christopher Bonner, 19, Platteville, and Jeffrey Jarvis, 46, Williamsburg, Mich., were driving south on 151 when Bonner saw the Novinski crash. As Bonner and Novinski drove around the crash, Jarvis changed lanes from the right lane to the left lane to render assistance, and sideswiped Bonner’s car, according to the sheriff’s department.
