Towers Parking Lot crash

An officer was performing active patrol where they found a silver 2008 Cadillac trying to do a parking maneuver into a legal parking stall in the Towers Parking Lot. 

At approximately 1:06 p.m. on Feb. 2, the officer witnessed the driver strike the vehicle in the stall to the left. The parked vehicle was hit with the right rear passenger side wheel well with the front driver side bumper of her Cadillac. 

After the driver hit the car, the officer then observed the car pull back into the same legal parking stall. Once the driver parked, the officer made contact with the driver who told the officer that they had been attempting to perform a parking maneuver at which point she struck the parked car. 

Looking into damages, the officer had found minor paint transfer marks to the front driver’s side bumper of the driver’s vehicle, but no other damage was recorded to their car. 

Next, the officer looked into the damages to the parked car and found minor paint transfer marks on the rear passenger side wheel well. No other damages were found or recorded to the parked vehicle.

The officer then took several photographs of the damage sustained to both vehicles as a result of the traffic crash. The officer requested that the driver complete a written statement form regarding the crash. 

The driver’s records were searched by the officer and they came up clean. The same search was used on the identity of the owner of the parked car. 

Once the officer compiled the information, they found the identity of the owner of the parked car and found they were a UW-Eau Claire Student and attempted to make contact. The student could not be reached, so the parents were contacted and updated about the incident.

Due to the minor paint transfer marks, the officer visually estimated the damage to both vehicles to be under $1,000. They then completed a UW-Eau Claire Police Department Non-Reportable Accident Form at the time regarding the above traffic crash.

The next day, the officer was contacted back by the owner of the parked car and collected insurance information and answered any followup questions they might have had about the crash. Both the student and parents were working with the officer the following day. 

UW-Eau Claire Police assist Eau Claire Police with crash

A crash occurred at approximately 11:04 a.m. on Feb. 4 near University Drive, and an officer was in the area to help assist. 

The Communication Center advised that the vehicle was located at W. Clairemont and University Drive near the intersection’s median island.  

They also advised that the vehicle had hit a light pole during the crash and the light pole landed on top of the vehicle. 

The officer arrived and observed a black Prius on top of the median island facing westbound on University Drive and W. Clairemont. They observed that the light pole was laying completely across the top of the black Prius. 

However, three lanes of traffic on University Drive near the crash were still open, so the officer blocked off the lanes to protect the scene and direct traffic. 

While directing traffic, an individual informed the officer that they had witnessed the crash. The officer asked if they were injured at all or if their vehicle had been hit during the incident. The individual stated they were not injured and the vehicle was not hit.  

The officer had asked the person if they would like to complete a written statement form and they agreed they would and once they completed it, they gave it back to the officer. No more information or questions were gathered from the individual, and the officer watched them leave the scene.

Once the interaction was over, the officer continued to offer assistance on scene with directing traffic.  

After the vehicle was removed by a tow-truck, the officer was cleared from the scene by Eau Claire Police.

Keychain found

An officer was dispatched to Bridgman Hall by the Comm. Center to make contact with a complainant about a recovered property case. 

Upon arrival, the officer made contact with an individual at the Bridgman Hall front desk, where they advised that an unknown resident had located a black Kia key fob on the Garfield Avenue Hill. 

They also told the officer that the key fob was on the ground at the base of the stairs located in between Horan Hall and the Hilltop Center. 

The individual stated that they had not obtained any identifying information from the resident that located the key fob, then turned the key fob over to the officer.

The officer then observed that the key fob was for a Kia vehicle and that the key fob had a Mexican sugar skull key chain attached. There was no other information that would indicate who the key fob belonged to at that time. 

Before leaving, the officer thanked the individual for turning the keys in and left the scene.

After clearing from Bridgman Hall, the officer transported the key fob to the UW-Eau

Claire Police Department’s property and evidence room where several photographs were taken. The keys then were secured in the police station.

Keychain quest

An officer was informed on Feb. 5 that an individual had called the main front office phone regarding missing keys. The owner was calling to ask if they had recovered any black Kia keys. 

The individual left an accurate description of the Kia keys that were recovered by an officer last evening. The officer then called the individual back to inform them that police had recovered that item, and that they could come and collect it at the department.  

They agreed to come to the department to retrieve the property at 12:15 p.m. where the keys had been returned to its owner. 

 Huettner can be reached at [email protected].