UPDATE:Two Killed in Afternoon Crash

On Wednesday October 22, 2025 at 2:12pm, Douglas County 911 received a call from a motorist reporting a white vehicle traveling north in the southbound lanes of USH 53 near the Kent Rd. in Hawthorne Township.  At 2:15pm calls were received of a head-on crash in the same general vicinity.

Emergency responders arrived on scene and found two vehicles with heavy front-end damage, one on each side of the road. The driver's of both vehicles were checked for signs of life, with none found.

Witness statements and evidence at the scene indicate a white 2020 Subaru Forester being driven by Daniel W. Ohara, 77, of Duluth was traveling north in the southbound left lane where it collided with a southbound 2010 Dodge Caravan being driven by Todd M. Eckart, 61, of Duluth. 

The crash is under investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office with the Wisconsin State Patrol doing an accident reconstruction.  Also responding and assisting on the scene were volunteers from the towns of Hawthorne, Bennett, and Solon Springs, the Douglas County Highway Department, Douglas County Medical Examiners Office, and Mayo Ambulance.

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Two persons were killed in a head-on collision on Southbound USH 53 in Amnicon Township in Douglas County on Wednesday afternoon October 22, 2025.

The crash was called in to Douglas County 911 at 2:12pm.  A vehicle traveling northbound in the southbound lanes between Berg Park Rd. and Kent Rd. collided head-on with a southbound vehicle.

The victims were the drivers and sole occupants of the vehicles.  Identification is withheld pending notifications.  Further information will be released on 10-23-25.