One person airlifted from crash that closed highway for hours

Friday afternoon, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch Center was notified of a single-vehicle crash that occurred at the intersection of State Highway 82 and County Road, in the Town of Forest. 63-year-old Stephen J. Hynek of Hillsboro was operating a truck travelling southeast on County Road P. The truck was loaded with shelled corn, and the operator reported a mechanical issue with the brakes as he approached the intersection of Highway 82. The vehicle went off the left side of the roadway, struck an embankment, and came to rest crossways of both Highway 82 travel lanes. Hynek was flown from the scene by Gundersen AIR to Gundersen Health System in La Crosse. Due to cleanup of the load spillage, Highway 82 was closed for almost 3 hours.  The crash remains under investigation.