(Patriot Insider) – On Friday, Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley was involved in a tragic three-car crash that took the lives of a young mother from Pennsylvania and her 5-year-old daughter, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Democratic lawmaker was in the middle of a phone interview with a reporting intern from the Journal Sentinel at the time of the crash in the northern Wisconsin city of Ashland.
During the interview, Bewley told the reporter, Ben Baker, that she had just had cataract eye surgery the day before. Further into the interview, the call went silent.
“When Baker asked Bewley if she was still on the line, she sounded concerned,” the report said. “When Baker asked if she was OK, she said, ‘Yeah, I’m OK. This is not a good accident.’”
Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley was involved in car crash Friday that killed a mother and her 5-year-old daughter. https://t.co/kx0pPf6mh1
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) July 25, 2022
According to Ashland Police, Bewley, 70-years-old, pulled out of a Lake Superior beach entrance into the path of a car driven by 27-year-old Alyssa Ortman.
After Ortman’s car hit Bewley’s it spun across Highway 2 and was struck by another vehicle driven by Jodi Munson, 45, according to reports.
Ortman’s 5-year-old daughter, Khaleesi Fink, was pronounced dead at the scene and Ortman was taken to a nearby hospital where she later died.
Ashland Police Chief Bill Hagstrom reported that Bewley was not taken to the hospital and the Daily Press report on Tuesday said police were not recommending charges against her.
Bewley’s office released a statement regarding the accident on Monday, saying, “Senator Bewley was involved in a three-vehicle accident in Ashland, Wisconsin on Friday, July 22nd,” adding, “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.
“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.”
The Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that Ortman’s mother, Ginger Urbanik, had previously lost her only son to a crash involving a drunk driver less than two years ago. Now she has lost her only daughter and her granddaughter.
This is truly a most tragic incident.
Alyssa Ortman, 27, and her 5-year-old daughter Khaleesi Fink died after a car crash in Ashland involving Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley
— JSOnline – NewsWatch (@js_newswatch) July 26, 2022
“My grandbaby, who was just starting out, just getting ready to start kindergarten — her life’s gone,” Urbanik told the outlet. “And my daughter, who had so much to look forward to, and so much that she wanted to do good in the world, and all of her plans … and now both of our children, within a matter of years, are gone.”
“Our only two children … we’re going to suffer for the rest of our lives,” she said.
Lift this grieving mother up in prayer. You can’t possibly fathom the pain and heartache she is feeling right now.
Copyright 2022. PatriotInsider.org
So she’s has cataract surgery the day before, and on a phone interview while driving? And pulls out of a parking lot into the path of a car that presumably has right of way?
What? Driving while talking on the PHONE she caused an accident that killed a mother and her 5 year old daughter and they said they aren’t going to press charges against her? Oh, sorry, I forgot, she’s a DEMOCRAT so that makes it OKAY and she’ll get a free pass. If Bewley were a REPUBLICAN I’m sure she would have been immediately charged with vehicular manslaughter.
I agree. The way this article is written, not recommending charges against Bewley seems kind of irresponsible. Eye surgery the day before, giving a media interview during, wow. Seems like maybe impaired driving to me.
She should lose her license at the very least and there should be a civil wrongful death lawsuit