Watch CBS News

Wis. Woman Dies After Getting Marriage License

PORTAGE, Wis. (AP) -- A 22-year-old woman who had just purchased her marriage license with her fiance was killed when her sport utility vehicle crossed the center line and hit a semitrailer.

Karin Bussian's fiance, 21-year-old Sam Marwitz, was driving behind her and saw the crash on Highway 51 Tuesday afternoon. Marwitz, who is a volunteer firefighter, tried to help her. She died at the scene.

"There was nothing he could do. It was tough," said Duwane Marwitz, Sam's father and Dalton's fire chief, who went to the scene.

The Portage Daily Register reports that the two were traveling in separate vehicles from purchasing the license in Portage and were heading to Bussian's rural DeForest home.

They had been dating for seven years and their wedding date was set for June 10. The wedding preparations were the next step for the couple after Marwitz's graduation this month from Madison Area Technical College, where he had studied diesel tech as well as business and entrepreneurship.

Bussian worked in the flooring and plumbing departments of Menards in Beaver Dam. She hoped to start a photo studio and had a photography business, KEB Photography.

The couple met as teenagers at the Columbia County Fair.

"It was cute; there were three or four girls 'oogling' over him," Duwane Marwitz said of his son. "Of course, Sam wasn't interested at all."

He was interested in Karin and they later became inseparable, he said.

Duwane Marwitz said he was looking forward to having a daughter-in-law.

"We were planning a wedding," he said. "Now we're planning a funeral."

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.