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Driver charged with homicide in bicyclist's death in Racine County 


By TOM HELD
[EMAIL PROTECTED]


Posted: July 24, 2008


A mix of beer and the prescription drug Adderall impaired the
43-year-old woman who drove into two bicyclists in Racine County two
weeks ago, according to the criminal complaint charging her with
homicide.

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Janell Gehrke failed three sobriety tests after the crash that killed
Nancy Sellars, 48, and severely injured Thomas Chopp, 65, according to
the complaint.

The driver, from Franksville, told a sheriff's deputy she had four to
five bottles of MGD 64 beer in the hours before the crash, which
occurred about 6:25 p.m. July 9, according to the complaint. She also
told the deputy that the Adderall she had been taking to treat attention
deficit disorder for two months seemed to significantly enhance the
effects of alcohol, the complaint says.

Tests to determine Gehrke's blood-alcohol level have not been completed,
according to Deputy District Attorney Richard Chiapete.

Gehrke is scheduled to appear today in Racine County Circuit Court,
where she will answer to the three felony charges and one misdemeanor
filed with the court late Tuesday.

She is charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle,
hit-and-run resulting in death, hit-and-run causing great bodily harm
and operating while intoxicated causing injury. The charges carry
maximum sentences of 65 years in prison and up to one year in a county
jail.

According to the complaint, Gehrke struck Sellars and Chopp from behind
while driving westbound at roughly 40 to 50 mph on Five Mile Road in the
Town of Raymond.

Sellars suffered severe head injuries and died at Froedtert Hospital in
Wauwatosa. She was one of two cyclists killed in the state over a
12-hour span.

The other victim, David Brandenburg, 63, was killed about 6 a.m. July 9
when a semitrailer truck ran into him on County Highway A near Fox Lake,
in Dodge County.

Dodge County sheriff's deputies specializing in trucking rules
enforcement continue to scrutinize the truck and the driver's logbook as
part of that investigation.

Earlier news reports that the 34-year-old driver was cited for
inattentive driving are wrong, and the case remains open for citations
to be issued or a referral to the district attorney for possible
criminal charges, sheriff's Capt. Molly Soblewski said.


 
Steve Meiers
Safety educator
(608) 267-1102
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 

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