Price County Man Appears in Taylor County Court for Accident that Resulted in the Death of a Woman

Friday, February 6th, 2026 -- 12:01 PM

A Price County man charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle after a one-car crash led to the death of a 49-year-old woman appeared in Taylor County Court.

Back in October of last year, officers in Taylor County were called to an area near County Road C and Wood Lake Avenue at 2 PM, where they found an SUV with extensive damage.

Investigators determined that the vehicle was southbound when it left the road at high speed and struck two trees. The female passenger, identified as Sharon M. Kaplon, was extracted from the vehicle and rushed to a Medford hospital.

She was then airlifted to Wausau, where she died from her injuries a few hours later. The driver, Stephen Kaplon, was not seriously injured. Officers have since charged him with Sharon’s death.

He is in custody at the Taylor County Jail on a $200,000 cash bond. During his court appearance on Thursday, he waived his preliminary hearing and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him.

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