Sheboygan crash, child's memorial cross stolen by accused driver
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - The Sheboygan man charged in a crash that killed a 4-year-old in April is now accused of stealing a cross from the victim's memorial site.
Nathan Heitzmann, 24, is charged with misdemeanor theft and bail jumping. He's charged with "knowingly operate motor vehicle while suspended-cause death" and homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle in connection to the crash.
According to a criminal complaint, the memorial cross for Cordelia Kuether was placed, with the homeowner's permission, at the location of the crash – near 21st Street and Saemann Avenue. The cross was purchased by the family of the victim, and a new one has now been secured to a tree.
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"Life is very fragile, and you never know exactly when something as fragile as that can be taken away from us," said Devon Kuether, the child's father.
The investigation into the theft of the memorial cross began in August. A witness told authorities Heitzmann showed up at work to pick up his radio and as the two were leaving the building, Heitzmann allegedly opened his backpack, which contained a white cross. Heitzmann allegedly told the witness that he took the cross because he "needed it for himself," according to the complaint.
Cordelia Kuether
"How could this guy, who essentially caused the accident that took my daughter from me, how could he go and do this?" said Kuether.
Officers interviewed Heitzmann the next day. During that time, Heitzmann allegedly said he had no idea what happened to the cross and said "did it get picked up and grow legs," according to the complaint. He also allegedly said "are you sure my little brother didn't take the sign officer, the other day he told me he was really getting sick of looking at it."
Crash details
Sheboygan police were dispatched to the area on April 12 for a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle. An officer at the scene found a minivan and a white pickup truck, later identified as having been driven by Heitzmann.
Also on the scene, officers found the 4-year-old child who suffered fatal injuries, the child's mother, and two other juveniles. The complaint said "the children had stopped to pet a dog" belonging to a third person who was also present at the crash scene.
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That third person told police he saw "a white vehicle fail to stop at the intersection's stop sign on North 21st Street," the complaint said. The witness also said an accident took place and he saw a maroon van coming toward him and the children. He reported he yanked his dog out of the way and fell backwards onto the concrete.
The two other children at the scene also were hurt – with abrasions and cuts.
Fatal pedestrian crash at 21st and Saemann in Sheboygan
According to the complaint, Heitzmann "indicated that the crash was his fault and he felt guilty for what occurred." He made several comments to police that he "made a mistake and did not plan on his day going that way."
When another police sergeant made contact with Heitzmann at the scene, he noted Heitzmann did not have a valid driver's license. The complaint said Heitzmann responded: "Wow, I thought I still had a point or two left, but OK, I knew it was close, I'm on and off the fricking license." He also allegedly said: "I can tell you exactly what happened, this is my fault...I looked, I stopped at the stop sign OK, looked back and forth, saw them playing on the corner, when I looked to the right, I did only look once, I'm not gonna lie, and it was kind of quick, and I did not see any car, but I'm assuming they were behind my A-pillar, that was just perfect out of my view, it's my fault."
Fatal pedestrian crash at 21st and Saemann in Sheboygan
Investigators completed an airbag module download of both vehicles involved in the crash. According to the complaint, the data showed Heitzmann's vehicle was going 16.5 mph seconds prior to the crash and progressively slowed down before then increasing seed to 13.1 mph a half-second before impact and 16.2 mph at the time of the crash. Investigators said the data "indicated that the defendant never made a complete stop at the stop sign prior to the crash."
According to the complaint, investigators spoke to Wisconsin DMV officials and learned they had sent two letters to Heitzmann – one in early March "telling him his license was being suspended due to having 14 point violations," and the second in late March "indicating that there was an additional 3-point violation they were adding."
When investigators presented the letters of suspension to Heitzmann, he said: "Let's just go with that, I was suspended, and I'm still driving, and I shouldn't be."