Updated at 11:40a to add I-94 crash; Updated at 2:05 with crash cause; Updated 3:10 re lane closures; Updated 4-22
Authorities now say the driver of the car that crashed into a piece of construction equipment on I-94 in Racine County Friday was tied to an apparent murder in Rockford. The car was registered to the 24 year-old female murder victim. Authorities believe they know the identity of the driver, but have not released a name, or have said whether the individual is a suspect in the murder. A witness to the crash reported that the driver's side front tire of the car fell off, causing it to pull abruptly to the left, crashing into an excavator. Both vehicles burst into flames. The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Union Grove---Authorities are looking for an escapee from the minimum security prison near Union Grove. 36 year-old Christine Abel turned up missing during a head count Thursday evening. A short while later, the owners of a home located about a mile from the prison returned to discover that their truck had been stolen. According to online records, Abel was serving time on a Brown County burglary conviction after her probation had been revoked. Authorities either haven't said or don't know how she escaped.
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Mt. Pleasant---A cleaning crew working overnight interrupted a burglary at the Hyundai dealership on Washington Ave. in Mt. Pleasant. The sound of breaking glass may have alerted the workers---they hid in the back and called 911. Mt. Pleasant officers and sheriff's deputies arrived within seconds and were able to grab one offender while his accomplices took off in a stolen mini-van, leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase into Milwaukee County. According to media reports, a spike strip punctured a tire on the van. The suspects pulled off the interstate near Howard Ave. and bailed. The sloppy getaway injured the lone detainee back at the dealership--he was pinned between the fleeing van and a vehicle that he'd been trying to steal. The Milwaukee man, who has a significant record, was treated at the hospital and released for a trip to jail. The mini-van had been stolen in Milwaukee.
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Source material includes news releases from both the Mt. Pleasant Police Dept. and the Racine County Sheriff's Dept.
