Driver In Girl’s Death Sought

March 27, 1995

By KURT RENTMEESTER

Of the Marshfield News-Herald

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – An area resident is suspected as the hit-and-run driver who cause the death of an 11-year-old town of Hansen girl Friday evening.

Wood County Sheriff’s Department investigators continue to comb the Vesper area today for the northbound vehicle that struck Deidre Week, 6913 County Trunk HH. The girl died of massive head trauma after her bicycle was struck from behind by a northbound motorist at about 6:44 p.m., a block from her home.

“We don’t have any leads at this point,” Sheriff Brian Illingworth said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 421-8700.

Several deputies and investigators spent Saturday and Sunday canvasing homeowner’s door-to-door on the whereabouts of the vehicle, according to Kurt Heuer, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Department.

The vehicle is believed to be a four-door, mid-size Oldsmobile Cutlass or Chevrolet Celebrity type vehicle, according to an Arpin man who witnessed the accident. The two people in the vehicle are likely to be males and the vehicle’s color ranges anywhere from red to burgundy, Illingworth said.

Heuer said Sunday evening that the description could be a tentative one if the vehicles appearance has been changed.

“Obviously, we’ve continued full-speed ahead going door-to-door following up on information,” Heuer said. “You name it and we’re doing it.”

The witness who lives on the same road near Arpin, was southbound, traveling toward the girl and car on County Trunk HH. He saw the girl get thrown into the ditch.

He said the accident occurred at dusk, but that it was light enough to see. Sunset was at 6:17 p.m. that day, Illingworth said.

According to reports the driver did not have the lights on his car on. Illingworth said the fact there were two people in the vehicle and the location of the incident increase authorities’ chances of identifying the driver.

“I would suspect most people on HH are local. There’s only an outside chance that the people on that road are from outside the area,” Illingworth said.

State Department of Transportation records can’t be used in the location of the vehicle because the police don’t have a license number, he said.

An autopsy on the girl is not expected, although they are sometimes done in those situations as the search for evidence continues.

The child may have been coming from an event in Vesper when the incident occurred. But Illingworth said she also had a candy bar and can of soda that she may have just purchased at a grocery store.

The incident occurred between Highway 186 and Hayes Road in front of a residence at 6824 County Trunk HH, and a block from the girl’s residence, Heuer said.

The girl's death, the fourth traffic-related fatality of 1995 in Wood County, has drawn village and surrounding area residents together in search to find the driver, Illingworth said.

The witness established a $500 reward fund today at First National Bank, Vesper.

The reward will to the Sheriff’s Department in attempting to solve the case.

And, other residents are calling the department with other leads.

“There are a bunch of citizens really interested in this,” Illingworth said.

Many residents, he said, are outraged by the fact a hit and run could occur in their own community.

“You can’t do much worse than strike and hit a girl on a bicycle. It really pulls at the heartstrings,” Illingworth said.