Police: Witness pulls victims of a hit-and-run crash out of submerged vehicle

Mark Klitzman, 28, charged with hit-and-run

MADISON,Wis. — A man helped pull a father and daughter from their car after they were forced off the road by a dump truck, according to a Dane County Sheriff’s report.  The incident occurred in the town of Burke just before 10:00 p.m. Thursday.

The dump truck driver, Mark Klitzman, 28, hit the side of a vehicle driven by Alissa Gundrum, 15. Gundrum was driving with her father Ronald Gundrum, 43, when the dump truck hit them on Highway 19 near I-39. Gundrum’s vehicle rolled over and landed upside down in a pond, according to the report.

Klitzman fled the crash scene, but a 19-year-old witness jumped into the pond and pulled the Gundrums from the submerged car.  They were both transported to UW hospital with minor injuries, according to the report.

Dane County sheriff’s deputies located the dump truck and Klitzman at a nearby quarry. Klitzman was cited for hit-and-run causing injury and unsafe lane deviation, according to the report. A Wisconsin state patrol inspector also responded and placed the dump truck out of service for axle and brake issues.