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Nov. 03--A sleeper camper caught fire early Thursday as it was being pulled on the interstate near Hudson, Wis., during a family hunting trip, and a man sleeping inside was killed, authorities said.
The blaze erupted about 1:15 a.m. on westbound Interstate 94, about 8 miles east of Hudson, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol. Authorities have yet to determine how the fire began.
Killed in the trailer behind a pickup truck was Eric M. Ludwig, 22, of Stratford, Wis., the patrol said.
Unharmed in the pickup were the victim's grandfather, father and a brother, said Patrol Sgt. Steve Tape.
The four were on their way to South Dakota for a hunting trip, Tape said.
The sergeant said the patrol is looking at several possibilities for how the fire started, noting it "could be electrical, propane, maybe a heater in the back." Investigators do know that Ludwig was a nonsmoker, Tape added.
"The driver noticed that the camper was smoking and pulled over to the right shoulder," he said. The camper door was opened, and the family's dog escaped the smoke, sergeant said.
Paul Walsh --612-673-4482
