Police: Alcohol a factor in fatal crash

The Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department said speed and alcohol were factors in a crash that killed a Black River Falls man near Whitehall last week.

Michael Kirtley, 45, was ejected from his vehicle after a crash that, apparently, had happened overnight, according to a press release sent by the sheriff’s department. The sheriff’s department received a report at 7:39 a.m. Tuesday of a vehicle that was upside down in a ditch on Highway 53 just south of the intersection of Richter Road in the town of Lincoln. First responders arrived and located Kirtley, who was already deceased. The release said he was the only person in the vehicle. 

The crash remained under investigation as of last week.

Gundersen Tri-County Ambulance as well as the Whitehall fire and police departments assisted on the scene.