Wisconsin man dies when semitractor overturns in Ogle County

OREGON – A Wisconsin man died Thursday after the truck and trailer he was driving overturned on Pines Road just west of Oregon.

Jason Smith, 40, of Marinette, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead at the scene after the 12:30 p.m. crash in the 1000 block of West Pines Road between the city limits and Devils Backbone Road.

According to information provided by the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, the semitractor was westbound, pulling a flatbed trailer with wood pallets, and was negotiating a curve when it traveled off the north side of the road before overcorrecting and returning within its lane.

“The Kenworth again traveled off the north side of the roadway and into the ditch before partially striking two ComEd poles and overturning on its top. The Kenworth traveled approximately 600 feet off the roadway before coming to rest,” the department said on its website.

Oregon and Byron fire and emergency medical services as well as Oregon police also responded to the scene. The crash resulted in the closure of that portion of the road for three hours as Maggio Truck Center of Rockford uprighted the truck and trailer and removed the pallets that had spilled onto the road, ditch and nearby farm field.

The crash remains under investigation.