GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A second driver involved in a head-on crash on Green Bay’s west side that left three people seriously injured has been charged.
The April 1 crash at the intersection of Velp and Wilson avenues may have been a case of road rage, prosecutors say.
Last week, 35-year-old Timothy Mossberger of Green Bay was charged with two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance July 3.
According to the criminal complaint, Mossberger told police another driver cut him off in the roundabout at Velp Avenue and Memorial Drive in Howard. They continued east on Velp, with the other driver speeding up and Mossberger following. At one point, Mossberger said speeds reached 67 mph, at which point he slowed down. He says he then witnessed the crash between the car and a van. Mossberger said his pickup truck may have collided with the van had he not turned onto another street. Mossberger says he returned to the scene, but left again. He later told police:
I was pretty worked up at that point. I left the scene because I was shaken up and didn’t know what to do. I had not been drinking or using any drugs. At no point did my truck ever make contact with any other vehicle during this incident.
Mossberger said he saw social media posts about the crash and the victims, and that police were looking to speak with the driver of a pickup truck.
“I knew that I should contact police,” he said.
The other driver, 22-year-old Jason Wright Jr., was previously charged with two counts of second-degree reckless injury, and two counts of operating a vehicle with a suspended license causing great bodily harm. According to a police officer quoted in the criminal complaint:
Jason told me that he “didn’t do nothing” and that he was “tripping.” Jason kept repeating that he was in disbelief because the Challenger was his vehicle. I asked Jason what direction he was traveling and he stated that he could not remember. Jason gestured to the Challenger wreckage and said “that’s not me… I don’t do this [expletive].” I kept asking Jason for details of the crash but he stated he could not think and that it felt “like a movie”. I asked Jason if he had any medical issues that may have caused the accident such as a diabetic emergency and he responded that he is the “healthiest guy ever,” the complaint states.
The officer did not notice Wright showing any signs of intoxication.
A witness who was travelling behind the two vehicles described it “as a road rage incident and that both the Challenger and truck were racing each other eastbound on Velp Avenue, starting all the way back to the Taco Bell at 1897 Velp Avenue” with speeds topping 70 mph.
A driver in the second vehicle involved in the crash offered this explanation:
“Victim 2 stated that he was pulling out and the other vehicle came flying out of nowhere and he thought that he had lots of room. Victim 2 stated that he tried to accelerate fast to get through the turn and the other vehicle swerved into the opposite lane and struck his vehicle. Victim 2 stated that he was pulling off of Wilson Avenue, making a left turn onto Velp Avenue,” the complaint states.
Another witness estimated the speeds as more than 100 mph.
At the hospital, police later talked to Wright again.
(Wright) stated that while he was driving on Velp Avenue, he noticed a black [truck] with blue headlights following close behind him. He stated that it seemed like the vehicle was “challenging” him, so he was driving really fast. (Wright) estimated that he was traveling 70-80 MPH,” the complaint states.
Although officers saw no sign of intoxication, Wright admitted he smoked marijuana earlier in the day. He consented to a blood draw, according to the complaint.
There are no test results cited in the complaint, and Wright was not charged with operating while intoxicated. However, whereas there are permissible levels of alcohol for vehicle operation, as marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, any detected amount could lead to OWI counts.
Wright’s driver’s license was suspended in connection with an Oconto County case.
Wright is due back in court on Friday.
