Officer Killed in Wisconsin UTV Crash

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Forest Lake Police Department sergeant is dead after his utility-terrain vehicle crashed in Wisconsin.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Kurt Kowarsch was visiting his cabin Saturday night in Burnett County, Wisconsin. Authorities there say he apparently lost control of the vehicle and hit multiple trees before the vehicle caught fire. A preliminary autopsy report showed that he died before the vehicle caught fire.

The 42-year-old Kowarsch served as a patrol officer, trainer, investigator, and SWAT team member. He also was a firearms instructor.

His infant daughter, Brooke, died in 2011 at a home daycare in Lindstrom. The unlicensed provider was charged with murder and manslaughter but was later acquitted.