City worker killed trying to help woman and baby stuck in ditch, Wisconsin sheriff says

A city employee in Wisconsin was fatally hit by a box truck while trying to help a woman and infant stuck in a ditch, city officials said.

Douglas Whaley, 49, of Hager City stopped along the icy road to help a 24-year-old woman and a 3-week-old infant after her car was stuck in a ditch near Prescott just before 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

While Whaley was assisting the woman, a box truck crashed into the vehicles, hitting Whaley’s car and another vehicle, the sheriff said. Deputies responded to the scene of the four-vehicle crash and rushed Whaley to a hospital.

The infant and a 13-year-old in Whaley’s car were also injured and taken to a hospital. Their conditions were “undetermined,” according to the release.

Whaley died later at the hospital, the sheriff said.

For over four years, Whaley worked as a public works foreman for the city of Prescott, where he “was an outstanding employee that will be dearly missed,” city officials said in a news release.

“We as a City and especially our Public Works Department will be dealing with Doug’s loss for a long time to come,” city officials said. “However, more than anything we want to thank Doug for his great work ethic, outstanding teamwork, and most importantly the friendship he provided to so many of us over the years he was here.”

Whaley’s boss, Prescott Public Works Superintendent Mike Kinneman, told KARE11 that “he was always one that would never leave anyone behind. He just liked to help people. He was always on the move. Always helping people when he could.”

Whaley was a father of four who “married the love of his life” in 2019, according to his obituary from the Mahn Family Funeral and Cremation Services. “Doug loved music of all kinds.. He liked playing DJ at deck parties.”

“He enjoyed learning new things and loved watching documentaries – even the boring ones,” the obituary said. “Doug was funny and a wiseacre who was never wrong, although that part is still up for debate. He may have been a bit of a loud-mouth and stubborn in all the best ways, but moreover, Doug had a big heart. He was always ready and willing to help others regardless of the circumstances. He adored his family and was very proud of his children.”

Prescott is along the Wisconsin-Minnesota state line and about 35 miles southeast of Minneapolis.

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