APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A motorist who was driving 106 mph on a city street moments before a fatal crash was convicted Thursday.
Irma Garcia, 20, pleaded no contest to first-degree reckless homicide for the crash which killed Silia Hurula on Sept. 17.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 19. The maximum penalty would be 60 years in the prison system.
According to the criminal complaint, crews were called to E. Calumet and Oneida streets at 10:50 p.m., where one vehicle had rear-ended another, with the struck vehicle bursting into flames.
Tracking data from Garcia’s Saturn Aura showed it was traffic 106 mph 2-4 seconds before the crash with Hurula’s vehicle, with the accelerator at 99% engaged.
“The brake was shown as not being used in this time period,” the complaint states.
Garcia denied drinking or taking drugs before the crash. She said she believed a car was following her.
“Eventually, Irma told Sgt. Kuether she took mushrooms around 2000 hours at her aunt’s house in Appleton. She said she took three grams of mushrooms, which was a decent amount. She said she was fine until she realized some (expletive) and what they were doing. She said the mushrooms make her feel more open to things. Irma said she could feel the mushrooms when she was driving, but that wasn’t why she crashed though, rather it was because they were following her, and they were going to kill her or keep her hostage,” the complaint states.
Hurula died of “thermal injury and blunt force injuries,” according to the complaint.
