Five killed in crash of car, pickup truck in northern Wisconsin

This is the real news from a real reporter /
By LISA M. HOFFMANN
Staff Writer
MARINETTE, Wis.- A father and four children from Wrightstown, Wis., are reported to have been the victims of a fatal traffic accident that occurred in Peshtigo, Wis., Sunday night.
Kaukauna School District Superintendent Lloyd McCabe said Karen Rivas, a sophomore, and Elenna Rivas, a junior, were killed in the crash.
"We activated our trauma and loss team and met at 6:30 a.m. today and then met with staff at 7:30 a.m. Teachers read a prepared statement during first hour to every class," McCabe said. "We had counselors and social workers and nurses available where these students would have been. We are focusing particularly on our program for English language learners and will be sending a letter out to parents at the end of the day with the kids who may have known them."
McCabe said the Rivas girls enrolled in the school district in October. They were new to the school.
The Kaukauna School District has 1,300 students.
Authorities at the Wrightstown School District were informed on Monday that Nicandro Rivas, a seventh-grader at the school, was one of the victims.
Kaukauna and Wrightstown are neighboring communities between Green Bay, Wis., and Appleton, Wis.
Wrightstown Middle School Acting Principal and Superintendent Carla Buboltz said staff met with students to give them time to absorb the news. A letter was also sent home with the seventh-grade students' parents Monday, and the fifth, sixth and eighth grade students were also notified of the news.
The school, which has about 360 students, started this morning with a moment of silence for Nicandro Rivas and his family.
"The students certainly are shocked, sad and are trying to find ways to express their grief. Several students are journaling. A guidance counselor is pulling large and small groups of students," Buboltz said. "I have been in contact with the families of Nicandro's closet friends so they have the resources they need."

Bublotz said Nicandro was a great kid and was in his third year at the school.
"He had already established relationships and a peer group," she said.
"Our kids' families are getting the services they need to deal with their grief," Bublotz said. "As a district, our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the Rivas family as they deal with this tragedy."
McCabe said this is not the district's first experience with fatal accidents..
"It's an unfortunate part of student life. We have a process and will reach out to the surviving members of the family," McCabe said.
Several years ago the district lost a student during the summer, she said.
"Fortunately we have a crisis plan in place."
A representative from the Malcore Funeral Home in Green Bay, Wis. said a memorial fund has been established at all Bank Mutual banks for the Joel Rivas family.
The accident occurred at Country Meadows Road and U.S. 41 in the town of Peshtigo, Wis., at 7:44 p.m. when a white four-door sedan was struck by a northbound pickup truck.
Preliminary investigation reveals the sedan pulled out of Country Meadows Road into northbound traffic on U.S. 41 and was struck by a northbound pickup truck with a lone male driver.
Marinette County Coroner George Smith pronounced all five occupants of the sedan dead from injuries.
Two people were thrown from the vehicle, and another was partially ejected, Marinette County Chief Deputy Jerry Sauve said.
"This was awful," he said.
The man driving the truck was treated and released at a local hospital.
During the accident investigation, traffic was re-routed at northbound U.S. 41 and Flame Road to Old Peshtigo Road and County Highway T, back to northbound U.S. 41. The road reopened early Monday.
Marinette County Sheriff James Kanikula, District Attorney Allen Brey and Coroner George Smith were to address the media about the accident at a press conference in Marinette this morning. No other information was being released by county officials about the accident until the press conference.

Part 1

By LISA M. HOFFMANN

Staff Writer

MARINETTE, Wis.- A father and four children from Wrightstown, Wis., are reported to have been the victims of a fatal traffic accident that occurred in Peshtigo, Wis., Sunday night.

Kaukauna School District Superintendent Lloyd McCabe said Karen Rivas, a sophomore, and Elenna Rivas, a junior, were killed in the crash.

"We activated our trauma and loss team and met at 6:30 a.m. today and then met with staff at 7:30 a.m. Teachers read a prepared statement during first hour to every class," McCabe said. "We had counselors and social workers and nurses available where these students would have been. We are focusing particularly on our program for English language learners and will be sending a letter out to parents at the end of the day with the kids who may have known them."

McCabe said the Rivas girls enrolled in the school district in October. They were new to the school.

The Kaukauna School District has 1,300 students.

Authorities at the Wrightstown School District were informed on Monday that Nicandro Rivas, a seventh-grader at the school, was one of the victims.

Kaukauna and Wrightstown are neighboring communities between Green Bay, Wis., and Appleton, Wis.

Wrightstown Middle School Acting Principal and Superintendent Carla Buboltz said staff met with students to give them time to absorb the news. A letter was also sent home with the seventh-grade students' parents Monday, and the fifth, sixth and eighth grade students were also notified of the news.

The school, which has about 360 students, started this morning with a moment of silence for Nicandro Rivas and his family.

"The students certainly are shocked, sad and are trying to find ways to express their grief. Several students are journaling. A guidance counselor is pulling large and small groups of students," Buboltz said. "I have been in contact with the families of Nicandro's closet friends so they have the resources they need."

This site messed it up again/displayed it backwards/now can't delete the fix/

Well..the name of the truck driver is verified in the paper and he was arrested for intoxication and this morning booked for drunken driving and homicide.....You can decide who is right or was in the right....5 people are dead....a sad ending for this family.....

its just amazin what im reading here, this is just like a Bad dream for the family.

im speechless.. i just cant believe it

Nicandro Rivas was my closet friend and now he is gone... i want that person to go to jail for life.

They should not let the OWI driver go. If it was a African American or Latino he would be guilty

Reminds me of a friend who pulled out in front of a car after driving through a red light and was hit be a car driving legally.

However the car driving legally didn't have insurance and he got busted for the wreck even thou he didn't disobey a traffic law.

Like this wreck it sounds like the father pulled out in front of the truck breaking the law but the driver of the truck just happened to have some alcohol in his blood.

These days if you happen to walk by an open bottle of booze you will be legally drunk..

The law operates in strange ways...

i was one of karens best friends n i want the driver to go to jail for life i hate him n i dont even know him!!! i lost one of the best people u could ever meet because he was drunk n was driven!!!

R.I.P. ALL RIVAS

Even if Powell had not been drinking, the crash still would have happened. He is also a victom here..,