Bishop injured, deacon dies in car crash

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Retired deacon dies after crash

The Reporter Staff

MAYVILLE — A retired deacon died after his car collided with another vehicle Sunday as he and an auxiliary bishop of the Milwaukee Roman Catholic Archdiocese were on the way to a confirmation ceremony, church and sheriff's officials said.

The crash happened shortly after 1 p.m. as retired Deacon John Wargin, 68, was driving Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba to St. Andrew Parish in the town of Leroy, near Mayville, for the 2 p.m. joint ceremony with two other parishes, said Gerald Ponec, a close friend of Wargin and deacon of Nativity of the Lord Church in Cudahy.

Lt. Douglas Ninmann of the Dodge County Sheriff's Department said Wargin was driving west on Highway 28 when his car didn't stop at the Highway 175 intersection and was hit on the driver's side by a truck driven by Juan Rodriguez, 59, of Mayville.

Ninmann said Wargin's injuries did not appear at first to be life-threatening, and he died while being treated at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. The cause of death was not immediately released.
Sklba was treated for cuts at Aurora Medical Center in Hartford and later released, according to archdiocese officials.

Rodriguez remains hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Agnes where he was listed in fair condition Monday morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
A passenger in the Rodriguez vehicle, Birgilio M. Avila, 32, of Mayville, was transported to Aurora Medical Center at Hartford. No condition report was available.
All occupants were wearing seat belts. The accident remains under investigation.