Fatal motorcycle crash south of Merrill kills Oklahoma man

TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

An Oklahoma man was killed and his wife was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash at the southern intersection of Lincoln County Highways K and Q, approximately 2.5 miles south of Merrill in the town of Scott, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
The accident occurred shortly after noon and Lincoln County 911 received a call at 12:12 p.m. reporting a motorcycle and car crash at the intersection. Three people were injured, one of whom was not breathing.
When Lincoln County officers arrived on the scene, “they found an orange Harley-Davidson motorcycle lying on its side in the middle of the intersection and a tan Dodge Caravan on the west side of the road south of the intersection,” the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The initial investigation revealed that the Dodge Caravan, driven by an 88-year-old woman from Merrill, was traveling westbound on CTH Q and approaching the intersection with CTH K. When it stopped at the intersection, it turned southbound onto CTH K and drove directly into the path of the motorcycle, which was traveling northbound on CTH K. The motorcyclist did not have enough space or time to react and crashed into the driver’s side of the Caravan, in the center of the vehicle. Both the motorcyclist and his passenger were ejected from the motorcycle.
Both the motorcyclist and his passenger sustained serious injuries and were taken by ambulance to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, from where the driver was flown to UW-Madison Hospital for further treatment. The passenger was also taken to UW-Madison Hospital. On June 20, the driver, identified as 55-year-old Robert Dungan of McAlester, Oklahoma, died at UW-Madison Hospital from injuries sustained in the crash. The passenger, his 47-year-old wife April Dungan, remained at UW-Madison Hospital for treatment of her injuries as of June 20.
The driver of the Dodge Caravan was taken to Aspirus Merrill Hospital after the accident. Her condition is unknown. She told investigators “that she thought she had enough time to get in front of the motorcycle,” the press release said.
The accident remains under investigation while the Wisconsin State Patrol reconstructed the accident. A two-mile section of CTH K, including the intersection of CTH K and CTH Q, was closed for approximately two hours following the accident.
Merrill police and fire departments also assisted on site.