Charged: 49-year-old Racine man accused of striking vehicle that then struck garage in Mount Pleasant

MOUNT PLEASANT (WITI) -- A 49-year-old Racine man is facing several charges -- accused of driving drunk, hitting a car, and sending that car into a garage in Mount Pleasant.

It happened on Saturday, March 14th.

Robert Ritthaler faces the following charges:

Mount Pleasant police were dispatched to a home in the 1600 block of Endos Avenue in Mount Pleasant Saturday around 7:30 p.m. for a report of a hit and run. Police learned a pickup truck had struck a vehicle. That vehicle was found off the road with significant rear-end damage. That vehicle had struck a garage -- causing significant damage to the corner of the garage.

Police spoke with the occupants of the vehicle that was struck. They advised they were headed northbound on State Highway 32 when a pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed struck them from behind. These folks told police they estimated the pickup truck to be traveling at at least 70 miles-per-hour.

An officer gathering information at the scene heard the noise of metal rubbing on rubber, which caught his attention. The officer observed a vehicle traveling southbound on HIghway 32 -- a pickup truck with extensive front-end damage. Due to descriptions from multiple witnesses of the pickup truck that struck the vehicle which struck the garage, the officer believed the vehicle he was observing matched the description given by the witnesses.

The officer entered his squad and began pursuing the pickup truck. The officer initiated a traffic stop, and noticed the pickup truck drove up on the curb and then back off the curb during the traffic stop.

The pickup truck's driver was identified as Robert Ritthaler. The officer noticed an immediate odor of intoxicants coming from the vehicle, and Ritthaler's speech was slurred and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot.

Field sobriety tests were initiated, and Ritthaler was then taken in to custody.

Police say as paperwork was being completed, Ritthaler said "Did I kill anybody?"

Ritthauler was taken to the hospital for a blood draw.

Ritthauler was questioned further by police, and he admitted to driving the pickup truck, and admitted he was in an accident -- saying he thought he hit a deer because he hit something white.

Ritthauler was charged with OWI in November 2014. He was released on bond that was in effect at the time of Saturday's incident.