1 dead after head-on collision in construction zone on highway in western Wisconsin

HAUGEN, Wis. — Authorities in western Wisconsin say one person was killed and another was seriously injured after an accident at a construction site on Wednesday evening that closed a highway for hours.

The Barron County Sheriff's Office said officers were called to a crash on U.S. Highway 53, a half-mile south of 28th Avenue, at 5:23 p.m.

According to initial investigations, a minivan was passing other northbound vehicles in the wrong lane when it collided with a southbound sedan pulling a motorcycle trailer.

Due to construction, traffic was closed in both directions in the northbound lanes of Highway 53 and delineators were in place along the double yellow center line, the sheriff's office said.

The driver of the sedan died, while the driver of the LifeLink minivan was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries, authorities said.

The identity of the deceased will be announced at a later date.

The crash is currently being investigated.