On Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 3:36 p.m., the Barron County 911 Center received a call of a two vehicle crash on Hwy 48 near the Barron/Polk County line, west of Cumberland.
Deputies from the Barron County Sheriff’s Department along with the Cumberland Police Department, Cumberland Fire Department, Cumberland Ambulance, Barron County First Responders and the Life Link Helicopter all responded to the scene. Initial investigation shows a car driven by Shelton Hughes, 31 of Rice Lake, crossed the center line and stuck a truck driven by Jered Pedersen, 19 of Cumberland.
Hughes was pronounced deceased at the scene and Pedersen was flown to Regions Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Pedersen’s vehicle did start on fire and due to some quick thinking by some people passing by, who removed Pedersen from the vehicle and saved him from more serious injury. Hwy 48 was closed for about 6 hours with the assistance of the Barron County Highway Department and the WI State Patrol is assisting the Sheriff Department in reconstructing the accident scene.
