WASHINGTON COUNTY, Wisconsin (WISN) — Law enforcement describes it as a miracle.
Four passenger vehicles and two semi-trucks were mangled in a massive pileup in Washington County last week.
WISN 12 News spoke to a relative of the survivors, from Lomira, who somehow made it out of the vehicle, left vertical, wedged between two semis, alive.
“They survived something no family should ever have to go through,” Alex Thill said.
Three members of Alex Thill’s family, two adults and a toddler, were trapped inside their vehicle.
“I couldn’t imagine losing my niece or my sister, let alone my brother-in-law,” Thill said.
The chain reaction crash happened near Slinger on I-41 Aug. 18.
The sheriff’s office said a 57-year-old motorcyclist died in an initial crash; a semitruck heading southbound on I-41 didn’t notice traffic had stalled and slammed into several vehicles.
“In such a disarray that you couldn’t even consider that a car anymore, there’s no way,” Thill said.
Alex’s sister Savannah, her husband Christian, and their 3-year-old daughter were rushed to the intensive care unit.
“My sister will not be walking for a year. The muscle in your knee that keeps it in natural motion snapped and recoiled up to her thigh,” Thill said.
His brother-in-law is also recovering.
“He has many, many broken bones and, on top of that, a crushed nose,” Thill said.
Along with his niece, who is just 3 years old, she was pulled out of her car seat amid the chaos.
“She does have a bit of trouble walking, as her knee was messed up; it’s swollen, she has stitches, and a pretty bad concussion,” Thill said.
Thill said that while his family has a long road to recovery, he’s grateful they made it out alive.
“There’s no way that someone, especially a 3-year-old, could survive a significant crash like that, but thankfully, by the grace of God and paramedics’ help, they 100 percent did,” Thill said.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office told WISN 12 News the driver of the semitruck that caused the crash has not been ticketed, but the crash is still under investigation.
The Thill family created a GoFundMe to help with medical costs.
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