NEWS
Police find corpse next to highway
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by Lynn Heidmann
Friday, September 15, 2006
The Madison Police Department identified a corpse found on the side of Highway 51 Thursday morning as 19-year-old Travis M. Zeier, a Madison resident and student.
According to a press release from MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson, a motorist passing by noticed the body at approximately 7 a.m. Thursday.
Jeff Sholts of the Dane County Coroner's office confirmed the victim was enrolled at Madison Area Technical College and died in a vehicle-pedestrian collision.
"No further information regarding the crash is available until we perform an autopsy," Sholts said.
The autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning, and more information will be released at that time, according to Sholts. Though it will not be confirmed until the autopsy is preformed, Sholts said experts on the scene believe the man died on impact.
Though no one found the body until early Thursday, the MPD was called to the scene of a car crash in the same area the night before. A 2001 Ford Focus going south crashed into a fence on the side of the road Wednesday around 9 p.m., the release said.
The man driving the car left the scene of the accident Wednesday and was cited with "inattentive driving," Hanson said in the release.
But police also reported the driver of the car was interviewed this morning, and the MPD remains in contact with the driver.
"Detectives interviewed this driver this morning and let him go," Hanson said in the release. "No charges have been filed."
Neither a member of the Madison Police Department nor a representative of Wisconsin Highways could be reached for comment as of press time.
The investigation remains open, and anyone with information on the accident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at (608) 266-6014.
Anonymous (September 16, 2006 @ 2:16am):
I knew Travis, not as a close friend, but he and I went to the same school grades 1-12. I'm sure you know already he was found less than a couple of blocks from his home, which is next to Zeier Plastics, the company his family owns. It seems pretty aparant to me , having read numerous articles, what happened. He was walking home from MATC (or somewhere else) on the edge of the road when struck. I'm sure the unnamed 23 year old wasn't paying enough attention and moved over the solid white line onto the edge of the road. From the evidence I've gathered, it would appear the driver saw Travis at the last second and hit him while already engaged in his swerve to the left. He didn't swerve quick enough and he hit Travis. He was still veering to the left and couldn't stop, which is why he jumped the medium and hit the fence. I just wanted to bring to your attention the fact that Travis was near his home, most likely returning there, when the accident occured. I haven't seen that information in any articles. Hope I helped.
