Two Viroqua residents dead when SUV crashed into tree, after “medical event”

Two Viroqua, Wis., residents are dead, after their SUV crashed into a tree Friday in Vernon County.

The sheriff’s office identified the driver as 77-year-old Gerald Bina and 75-year-old Fern Rose Bina.

Sheriff Roy Torgerson said Gerald Bina, apparently suffered a sudden “medical event,” while driving on County Road NN.

The SUV left the road, traveled across a hay field, and collided head-on into the tree. Both were pronounced dead at the scene by the Vernon County coroner and deputy coroner.

As of Sept. 3, only one other person had been killed on Vernon County roads in 2023.

The statewide total a week ago was 368. There were 595 traffic deaths in Wisconsin for all of last year.