Fond du Lac fatal crash, 'repeat drunk driver' pleads no contest

FOND DU LAC, Wis. - The man charged in a 2023 Fond du Lac drunk driving crash that killed a man pleaded no contest Friday, Jan. 19 to two charges.

Court records show 57-year-old Brian Sippel was charged with seven felonies. The remaining five charges were dismissed, and he is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

In a news release following the crash, District Attorney Eric Toney described Sippel as a "repeat drunk driver" with prior convictions in 2004 and 2017.

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The crash happened Jan. 14, 2023 on Highway 151 at Interstate 41. Deputies at the scene found a white SUV and black car – both with heavy rear-end damage – and a gray pickup truck in the grass near the on-ramp. 

A criminal complaint states the black car's driver was unconscious and did not have a pulse. Despite life-saving attempts, he died at the scene from what was believed to be "extreme head trauma." That driver was later identified as 58-year-old Mike Hoffman of Waukesha. 

Fatal crash on Highway 151 at I-41 in Fond du Lac

A passenger in the black car was "not completely" alert and had a large cut to the back of her head, the complaint states. Bystanders had removed her from the wreck. She was treated at an area hospital for broken ribs, a collapsed lung, severe head trauma and lacerations.

The complaint states the pickup truck's front license plate was found inside the black car. It was determined that the pickup truck hit the black car, pushing it into the white SUV. One of three people who were in the SUV said the pickup truck "came out of nowhere."

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At the scene, the complaint states Sippel remained in the driver's seat of the pickup truck and said he was OK. Later, at a hospital, he told authorities he "felt like he was hit by a truck."

Per the complaint, Sippel told deputies that he had finished work around 6:30 p.m. – which was roughly 45 minutes after the crash happened. He was slurring his words and had bloodshot eyes. He later admitted to having one drink in St. Cloud. Asked what else he remembered, Sippel said he only recalled leaving St. Cloud.