Cheryl Mitchell (Brown Co. Jail)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A woman’s trial for an alleged fatal drunk driving crash won’t start this week after all, as it was postponed to June 24.
Cheryl Mitchell, 68, faces six counts, including homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, for the Thanksgiving Day crash last year which killed one person and injured two others. She told police she had three glasses of wine in the hours before the wrong-way crash on I-43. A blood test showed a BAC of .257 — more than three times the legal limit.
Mitchell’s trial was scheduled to start Wednesday, but defense attorney John D’Angelo told the court Tuesday he only recently received the crash reconstruction report and medical records. He said he needs time to review those items and others. A plea deal is also being discussed, he said.
Judge Donald Zuidmulder agreed to postpone the trial, but expressed frustration with the delay in providing the evidence.
According to the criminal complaint, emergency crews responded to the two-vehicle crash on I-43 near the ramp with State 96 in New Denmark shortly after 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Mitchell told police she was traveling from Denmark to Pound.
“Cheryl stated she drank some wine at her nieces. I asked Cheryl if she remembered how much wine she drank. Cheryl stated she maybe had three glasses,” the complaint states. “Cheryl stated she had 3 glasses of red wine and started drinking around 12:00 pm and stopped at 4:00 pm.”
After being taken to a hospital, Mitchell declined to perform a field sobriety test, but a blood draw was taken.
At this time, based on the totality of the circumstances, the odor of intoxicants coming from Cheryl’s vehicle, breath, her slurred slow speech and lack of balance, I believed Cheryl was under the influence of intoxicants,” the complaint states.
The driver of the vehicle Mitchell hit told police “he was going southbound on I-43 and was going to exit but was struck head-on by the other vehicle,” according to the complaint.
He and his wife were injured and their son died two days after the crash.
Mitchell was convicted of OWI in Kewaunee County in 1989, the complaint states.
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