Two killed in separate crashes on 41-141

The victims of two fatal crashes that occurred on U.S. 41-141 within minutes of each other March 19 have been identified as an Oconto man and a Manitowoc radio personality.

According to a news release from Oconto County Sheriff Todd Skarban, the emergency dispatch center received a call at 10:08 a.m. about a one-vehicle crash just north of Brown Road in the Town of Little Suamico.

“Deputies immediately responded to the scene of the accident and observed a pickup truck in the median, facing south, resting against the cable barrier with a male driver who was reported as unresponsive,” Skarban said.

A passing motorist stopped his equipment truck on the shoulder of the northbound lane to offer assistance. Skarban said while deputies and first responders extracted the pickup truck driver and applied life-saving measures, a northbound van struck the equipment truck parked on the side of the road.

The driver of the pickup truck, Aaron Miklaszewicz, 32, of Oconto, died at the scene. The driver of the van, Thomas Dernlan, 66, from Manitowoc, also died at the scene as a result of injuries from the crash.

A passenger in the van, a 73-year-old woman from Manitowoc, was flown by Eagle III rescue helicopter to a hospital in Green Bay for treatment of her injuries, Skarban said.

WOMT Radio in Manitowoc confirmed Dernlan’s death, as he was otherwise known as on-air personality Tom Craig. The hospitalized woman is Dernlan’s wife.

A statement from WOMT said Dernlan started broadcasting in 1977.

“His sultry voice was heard throughout his career on stations across Mississippi, Ohio, and Wisconsin, including Manitowoc’s WOMT and WCUB Radio,” the statement said. “Over his near 50-year career, Tom served as program director, music director, public service director, farm director, talk show host, news director, sports director, sports play-by-play and on-air personality.”

Even after retirement, he wanted to stay connected to his passion for radio and signed on to do a mid-afternoon shift on Fridays.