Wisconsin state senator involved in three-car crash that killed mother and 5-year-old daughter

No charges filed so far

A leader in the Wisconsin state senate was involved in a three-vehicle car accident last week that killed a mother and her five-year-old daughter, according to police.

On Friday, Janet Bewley, 70, the state senate’s Democratic minority leader, was pulling out of Maslowski Beach on Lake Superior to turn onto US Highway 2, when she collided with an oncoming car.

The vehicle, driven by Alyssa Ortman, 27, of Pennsylvania, then spun across the highway and hit another car, driven by Jodi Munson, 45, of Mason, Wisconsin.

Ortman’s five-year-old daughter died on the scene, and the mother later died in an area hospital.

The senator was not seriously injured.

“Tragically, two people lost their lives. This is a heartbreaking event for the community. Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the individuals involved, their families and their loved ones,” the senator’s office said in a statement.

"A police investigation is ongoing. Out of respect for that investigation and the privacy of all the families involved, our office will be withholding further comment at this time," it added.

Local police and the Wisconsin State Patrol will investigate the wreck and forward their findings to the Ashland County District Attorney to review any potential charges.

“We’ll be sitting down with them and going over everything as far as determining how it all actually happened,” Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom told the Ashland Daily Press on Monday. “Then we’ll forward everything to the district attorney for their review because it was a fatal accident.”

Police say alcohol is not suspected in the wreck, and no charges have been filed thus far.

Senator Bewley, who represents Ashland, Bayfield, and Price counties, had cataract surgery the day before the crash, the Madison Journal Sentinel reports.

Photos from the scene showed two badly mangled cars, an SUV and a Honda Civic.

Ortman and her daughter were from Clearfield, Pennsylvania, and were in the Midwest visiting family.

“From the moment I met Alyssa Ortman I fell head over heals (sic) and changed literally everything about my entire being to be the fairytale person for her,” Ortman’s boyfriend Brandon Fink wrote on social media after the accident.

“I’ve been through alot of loss and because of that I have no regrets about the time I spent with my girls. I gave then (sic) the full attention and love most dream of and spent everyday like it could be our last,” he added.