3-Car Crash On Interstate 94, Deputies Find Open Beer Can: Sheriff

RAYMOND, WI — After a three-car crash on Interstate 94 left two people injured early Thursday morning, Racine County sheriff's deputies arrested a man who they say fled the crash scene.

The sheriff's office accused 22-year-old Michael Saldana, of Kenosha, of operating while intoxicated. Deputies found Saldana walking in a business park nearby after the crash, according to a news release from the Racine County Sheriff's Office.

When authorites got to the crash scene around 2:36 a.m. near County Highway K, they found a blue Honda Accord in the middle of traffic, a U-Haul van against the median wall, and a green Ford Focus in the ditch. Authorites found two drivers who had life-threatening injuries, but the Honda's driver was gone, according to the news release. Deputies shut the highway down until just before 4 a.m. to investigate.

Initial investigation showed the Ford Focus was driving south on the Interstate when the Honda Accord crashed into the back of it, causing the Ford to go into the ditch and nearly roll, according to the sheriff's office. The Honda stopped in the middle of the interstate and the driver ran from the scene after the crash, the sheriff's office said.

Soon after, the U-Haul van approached, crashed into the abandoned Honda, and pulled over to the center median, according to the sheriff's office. The Ford driver and the U-Haul driver both had to be taken to the hospital after the incident, the sheriff's office said. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

Deputies said they found Saldana, glassy-eyed and smelling of intoxicants, in a business park just north of Highway 20. Deputies made him perform the horizontal gaze and nystagmus test, and the sheriff's office said he failed both, so deputies arrested him.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies found 3.7 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, a grinder and an open beer can in Saldana's car.

After deputies got a blood draw from Saldana at a hospital for the investigation, they brought him to the Racine County Jail where he was held on $16,500 bail for various charges, according to the sheriff's office.