(Hartford) Fond du Lac County authorities have released more information about a tragic New Year’s Eve crash that left a Hartford teen who was dragged for three miles by another vehicle dead.
Taya Grimes was one of four people thrown from a vehicle that went into a ditch on Highway 45. She was behind the wheel and was hit and dragged by a second vehicle that went past the crash scene. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead where her body came to rest on Highway 45 south of Kewaskum.
Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says the five people in Grimes’ vehicle were coming from an underage drinking party where alcohol and drugs were being consumed by minors and adults. The vehicle that hit and dragged Grimes is also suspected of hitting a second person that had been thrown into the roadway after the initial crash, a 17-year-old from Iron Ridge. That teen is in critical condition at a hospital. Waldschmidt says the investigation into the incident is one of the most complex the sheriff’s office has been involved in during his 25 years in law enforcement.
The sheriff and District Attorney Eric Toney appealed to anyone with information about the incident to call the sheriff’s office at 920-929-3390 or if they prefer to remain anonymous their tip line at 920-906-4777. Nineteen-year-old Jatziel Encarnacion of West Bend is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail in connection with Grimes’ death.
