Man Killed In Drunk Driving Crash Near Blanchardville

A 69-year-old man died Tuesday after being hit by a repeat drunk driver near Blanchardville. The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office said the crash happened just before 11:30 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 78 and County Highway F. The sheriff’s office said the victim, Gary Gruenenfelder of Blanchardville, was heading south on Highway 78 when a driver in a Ford F-150 crossed the center line and hit Gruenenfelder’s Toyota Sienna. First responders took Gruenenfelder to Monroe Clinic Hospital where he died. The truck’s driver, a 54-year-old Blanchardville man, is in stable condition at UW Hospital. A release says charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, operating left of center causing death and inattentive driving are pending in the case. The Sheriff’s Office said the driver has five previous OWI convictions. Online court records show the most recent offense happened in June of 2017; the man pleaded guilty to the charge in May of 2018. Highway 78 was closed for roughly five hours due to the crash, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.