Sheriff’s Office identifies 16-year-old victim in fatal Pine River car accident as investigation continues

FOR THE TOMAHAWK LEADER

TOWN OF PINE RIVER – The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, April 30 identified the victim in a fatal motor vehicle crash that occurred in the Town of Pine River the day prior.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call was received at 1:14 a.m. on Wednesday, April 29 reporting that a vehicle had left the road and rolled over on Shady Lane Ave. When deputies arrived on the scene, they found that a passenger had been ejected from the vehicle.

The passenger, Tyler S. Krenz, 16, of Merrill, was pronounced dead on the scene by Lincoln County Coroner Paul C. Proulx.

A second passenger, a 16-year-old male from Merrill, was transported to the trauma center at Aspirus Wausau Hospital. The driver of the vehicle, also a 16-year-old male from Merrill, was treated and released from a local medical facility and is currently in custody, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Sheriff’s Office is working with the Wisconsin State Patrol and the Lincoln County District Attorney as the investigation continues and is awaiting test results and a report to determine if speed and/or alcohol were factors in the incident. The Wisconsin State Patrol is reconstructing the crash.

Krenz is the fourth person fatally injured on Lincoln County roadways in 2020, the Sheriff’s Office said.