UPDATED Friday, September 28, 2012 --- 2:45 p.m.

From the Monroe County Sheriff's Department:

Monroe County Sheriff Peter Quirin reports a multiple vehicle crash which claimed the life of a 34-year-old female and resulted in injuries to two other drivers.

The crash occurred at approximately 8:05 a.m. on State Highway 173 about a half mile north of County Highway EW in the township of Scott.

A vehicle driven by Suzanne Becker, age 61, swerved to miss a vehicle. Becker’s vehicle then struck the backend of a vehicle driven by Melissa Mundo, age 34.

These two drivers, who were the sole occupants of their respective vehicles, were standing on the roadway between the two vehicles when a third vehicle, a Ford F250 pickup truck driven by David Peiper, age 57, struck the rear of Becker’s vehicle, pushing it into both Becker and Mundo.

Visibility in the area was poor due to smoke from a nearby forest fire.

Mundo died from the injuries she sustained.

Becker was sent by ambulance to Tomah Memorial Hospital, and then by helicopter to a hospital in Marshfield, WI with potentially life threatening injuries.

Peiper sustained minor injuries.

Assisting the Sheriff’s Department were the Monroe County 911 Communications Center, the Wisconsin State Patrol, the Warrens Fire Department, and the Tomah Area Ambulance Service.

The crash remains under investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol.

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Posted Friday, September 28, 2012 --- 10:35 a.m.

TOMAH, Wis. (AP) -- Law enforcement officers have closed a section of a highway in Monroe County after a number of crashes caused by a smoky wildfire.

Monroe County Sheriff Pete Quirin says there are multiple crashes, some with injuries, on Highway 173 near Warrens. Authorities say a grass fire sent smoke over the highway and reduced visibility.

WKBT-TV (http://tinyurl.com/d27nglj ) reports the road is closed from Highway 21 to county highway HH.

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Information from: WKBT-TV, http://www.wkbt.com

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.