A wrong-way driver collided head-on with another vehicle, killing two and injuring another on Interstate 43 in the Town of Port Washington on May 26, according to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
Nicole Horne, 51, and Jay Horne, 56, both from Oostburg, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to an updated news release from the sheriff’s office on May 27. Their passenger, 22-year-old Alissa Horne, suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized.
The driver of the offending vehicle, 34-year-old Ace Vue of Milwaukee, also sustained serious injuries and is still hospitalized.
It is unknown if alcohol or drugs played a factor in the crash, but the investigation is ongoing, per the sheriff’s office.
According to the updated release, criminal charges of first-degree reckless homicide and reckless driving causing great bodily harm will likely be requested on Vue.
According to the original release sent on May 26:
At around 12:35 a.m., the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office received several 911 calls reporting that a 2025 Lexus was driving southbound in the northbound lanes on I-43 near Jay Road in the Town of Belgium.
At 12:44 a.m., the wrong-way vehicle collided with a 2017 Ford Escape headed northbound on I-43 north of CTH H in the Town of Port Washington.
Nicole Horne was the driver of the Escape, Jay Horne was the front seat passenger and Alissa Horne was a rear seat passenger, according to the updated release.
Alissa Horne was taken by ambulance to Froedtert Hospital, and Vue was taken to Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, where Flight for Life then took him to Froedtert.
Vue was the sole passenger in his vehicle.
Northbound traffic on I-43 was closed at County Highway H for approximately five hours while the crash was investigated.
The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by the Port Washington Fire Department, Cedarburg Fire Department, Ozaukee Central Fire Department, Fredonia Fire Department, Port Washington Police Department, Saukville Police Department, Grafton Police Department, Ozaukee County Highway Department, Ozaukee County Crash Reconstruction Team, Ozaukee County Emergency Management, and Eddie’s Service.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
(This story was updated to add a video and to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wrong way crash kills two and injures another from Oostburg on I-43 in Port Washington
Reporting by Claudia Levens, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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