A Wisconsin man is behind bars after a deadly motorcycle crash that left a 51-year-old woman dead and another person injured. Investigators say the driver of the passenger vehicle involved in the collision left the scene, but deputies located the vehicle a short time later in a neighboring county. The suspect was identified as 30-year-old Jose Zuniga of Wautoma.
The crash happened around 5:13 p.m. Sunday, November 8, along State Highway 22 in the Town of Belmont, Portage County. The location is near the Waushara County line in central Wisconsin. According to the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, the collision involved a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle.
A 51-year-old woman from Wild Rose was riding on the motorcycle as a passenger when the crash occurred. She suffered fatal injuries and died. The motorcycle’s operator, also a 51-year-old Wild Rose resident, survived with minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
But the driver of the other vehicle was no longer there when authorities began responding to the incident. Investigators said the passenger vehicle had left the scene following the collision, turning the incident into a fatal hit-and-run investigation.
Deputies soon located the vehicle in Waushara County, where they stopped it and identified the driver as Zuniga. He was taken into custody and transported to the Portage County Jail.
Zuniga remained in jail Monday morning as the Sheriff’s Office pursued charges connected to the fatal collision. Investigators are requesting charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, hit-and-run causing injury and operating while intoxicated.
Although the requested charges point to suspected intoxication and the alleged decision to leave the crash scene, authorities have not confirmed that the charges have been formally filed. Zuniga’s arrest does not, by itself, establish guilt.
Meanwhile, the woman who died has not yet been publicly identified. Authorities have also withheld further details about the events that led to the collision, including how the motorcycle and passenger vehicle came into contact.
Emergency responders from several agencies assisted following the crash. Those involved included the Wild Rose Fire Department, Aspirus MedEvac, Waushara County Sheriff’s Office, Portage County Medical Examiner, Gold Cross Ambulance and Wisconsin State Patrol.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. For the woman’s family, the crash has brought an unexpected loss, while investigators work to establish exactly what happened and determine the next legal steps for the man arrested in connection with her death.
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