Waukon Police Officer injured in off-duty jet ski accident

Jeremy Wicks, age 21, of Waukon was injured Wednesday afternoon, June 10 when the jet ski he was operating on the main channel of the Mississippi River collided with another jet ski near Lansing. According to an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) report, the jet ski operated by Wicks collided with a jet ski being operated by Paul Wagner, age 30, of Waukon. Neither Wagner nor the passenger on his jet ski, 24-year-old Alyssa Petersburg of Waukon, were injured. Wicks was thrown into the water by the force of the collision, but remained conscious. He was pulled from the water by Wagner and Petersburg. All three are officers on the Waukon Police Department but were not on duty at the time of the accident. Wicks was transported by ambulance to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon then airlifted to Gundersen Medical Center in La Crosse, WI, where he was being treated for what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries to his head and neck. All of the individuals involved in the collision were using the required safety equipment, including life jackets, and alcohol was not a factor in the collision, according to DNR Conservation Officer Jerry Farmer. The incident remains under investigation by the DNR.