Name released in fatal Monroe Co. crash

MONROE COUNTY, WI — A 24-year-old man from Sawyer County died in a crash just before midnight on State Highway 27 about one tenth of a mile south of Cataract.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says 24-year-old James Denomie of Hayward, WI was driving northbound on highway 27 when he crossed the center line and struck a southbound vehicle driven by John Halbrehder, 68, of rural Sparta. The car spun around, rolled over in a ditch on the west side of the highway.

The striking vehicle continued north, entered a ditch on the west side of the highway, crossed a private driveway and went down an embankment.

Halbrehder and his passenger Carolyn Diekmann received non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to Mayo Clinic Health Care in Sparta.

Denomie was pronounced dead at the scene.  Authorities believe he was the only one in that vehicle.

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