Mount Pleasant hit-and-run crash; Sturtevant man accused in teen's death
Nicholas Ziccarelli
MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. - A 36-year-old Sturtevant man is accused in a hit-and-run crash in Mount Pleasant that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old boy. The accused is Nicholas Ziccarelli – and he is charged with hit-and-run resulting in death.
According to the criminal complaint, Mount Pleasant police officers were dispatched on Sunday evening, Aug. 20 to State Highway 31 and Newman Road for a hit-and-run crash. When officers arrived on the scene, the victim, a 14-year-old boy, was located with severe injuries. He was taken to a hospital -- and died from those injuries the next day.
Investigators located at the crash scene a "windshield wiper blade and half of a plastic license plate holder approximately 30 feet from the victim," the complaint says.
Officers spoke with several witnesses to the crash. One indicated a van struck a child. That witness "noted the boy was pinned underneath the front driver's side of the van. (The witness) stated the vehicle then reversed to avoid the boy and then left the scene heading north on State Highway 31," the complaint says. The witness provided a description of the van's driver.
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Another person told police he and the victim were trying to cross the street. He "stated the van was zooming, he then heard a noise and saw parts come off the van. (The person) indicated hearing the driver make statements like 'Oh (expletive)' and 'What do I do?' before speeding off and leaving the scene," the complaint says.
Law enforcement was able to identify the striking van and who it was registered to. They located the vehicle in Racine and "observed significant front end damage particularly to the license plate, grill and windshield," the complaint says. Officers also noted "the broken front plastic license plate bracket, the missing windshield wiper, large dent in the front hood, cracked and shattered windshield as well as blood."
On Aug. 22, the complaint says a detective conducted an interview with the woman who owns the van. She "indicated her belief that Ziccarelli was the person that took her van." The detective got permission to go through the woman's phone and located a text message to Ziccarelli's number that states, "You need to turn yourself in," the complaint says. The woman told the detective she believed Ziccarelli had discarded his phone.
Investigators used cell tower phone data which "provided a rough estimate of Ziccarelli's cellphone location/track" during the evening of Aug. 20. It placed him in the "direct area of the hit-and-run incident in the requisite time frame," the complaint says.
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Officials also reviewed texts from a search warrant in which Ziccarelli states, "My bad g I got into car accident yesterday," the complaint says. A complete review of those "text messages to and from various individuals tied to Ziccarelli and Ziccarelli himself provided evidence of a significant attempt to cover up his involvement in the hit-and-run including destroying his SIM card and his cellphone as well as concocting a story to indicate the van was stolen," the complaint says.
Ziccarelli made his initial appearance in Racine County court on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Cash bond was set at $50,000.