Horse and Buggy Crash Results in Traffic Fatality

A horse and buggy crash in Lafayette County Thursday has resulted in a traffic fatality. The Lafayette County Sheriff’s department reports that 22 year old Elmer Stolzfus of Gratiot died at University of Wisconsin Hospital shortly after 9am Friday.  Stoltzfus died as a result of extensive injuries suffered during the crash around 7:15pm Thursday on Highway 11. Stoltzfus was preparing to turn his single-horse, open-style buggy into a driveway when a westbound truck,  driven by 50-year-old Terry Gensler of Shullsburg,  struck the buggy from behind. That caused both Stoltzfus and his 2-year-old son to be ejected from the buggy. The horse pulling the buggy was killed in the crash. The buggy was demolished and the truck was severely damaged. Gensler was not injured. Lafayette County authorities arrested Gensler for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, causing injury. This is the first traffic fatality on Lafayette County roadways in 2020, and the first since 2018.