City Times Staff

SARATOGA — A 69-year-old Nekoosa man is dead after being hit by a minivan last night in the Town of Saratoga.

According to police reports, at approximately 8:16 p.m. authorities responded to a call of a man struck by a vehicle on State Highway 73, a quarter-of-a-mile west of State Highway 13 in Saratoga. The man, identified as John Lemke, exited his vehicle and had attempted to remove a traffic sign from the roadway. This sign was in the roadway from a recent prior crash.

As Lemke attempted to remove the sign, he was struck by a westbound minivan, driven by 33-year-old Elizabeth Brockman, of Nekoosa. Lemke was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither Brockman, nor her three children in the vehicle were injured during the crash.

A portion of State Highway 73 was closed for around five hours for the incident. Assisting the Wood Co. Sheriff’s Department were Wood Co. Sheriff’s Rescue, Nekoosa Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin Rapids Ambulance, Nekoosa Fire Department, Saratoga First Responders, Wood Co. Highway Department, and Spirit Air.