Waukesha crash: Teenage girl killed, man accused of driving drunk
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A West Allis man is accused of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, among other crimes, in connection to a Waukesha crash that killed a 17-year-old girl on Monday, Dec. 30.
In addition to homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, Jason Zehe, 19, also faces charges of second-degree reckless homicide, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, operating while intoxicated causing injury and possession of THC.
Zehe made his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Friday, Jan. 3. Cash bail was set at $250,000. Zehe is due back in court for a hearing on Jan. 7.
Crash scene
The multi-vehicle crash happened at Sunset and Guthrie on Monday night, Dec. 30. A preliminary investigation determined a vehicle was speeding on Sunset Drive, ran a stop sign and hit two other vehicles.
Scene at East Sunset Drive and Guthrie Road
At the crash scene, a Waukesha police officer spotted a car, an SUV and a pickup truck. The car "was up on the curb at the northeast corner of the intersection, resting against a stop sign whose pole was bent at a 45-degree angle and appeared to be totaled. The most significant damage to the (car) was to the entirety of the driver's side of the vehicle," the complaint says. The front end of the pickup truck was "crushed up against the rear of the silver SUV," the complaint says.
"I can count at least three, but I guarantee if I go back through all of this you – I don’t know if it was excited utterance, emotional, you were not thinking – you indicated ‘I did it,’" said Waukesha County Court Commissioner David Herring.
First responders attended to the injured -- including the girl in the car and a woman in the pickup truck. Officials also noted a man outside of the pickup truck, later identified as the defendant, Jason Zehe. At that time, the defendant stated "I'm just a stupid boyfriend. I am just trying to take her home," the complaint says.
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When investigators asked Zehe what happened, the "defendant stated, 'I was trying to take her home and then all of a sudden, I don't know, I don't know what happened.' When asked if he was going in the direction his car was currently facing, the defendant stated, 'Yes, I am not some (expletive) drunkard all the time. I-I-I crashed,'" the complaint says.
Scene at East Sunset Drive and Guthrie Road
The 19-year-old driver was arrested for operating while intoxicated. While being transported to a hospital to be checked, the criminal complaint says a paramedian asked the defendant if he had been drinking that night and the defendant stated, "Nothing. No. Like literally nothing. That's what I am saying." The defendant also denied using drugs. However, later, while being treated in the ambulance, the defendant stated, "I just wish I wasn't drunk," the complaint says. He later said "I am the one driving, and yeah, I should get charged," the complaint says. An officer was also later advised by a doctor at the hospital that the "defendant had told the doctor, ‘I was a drunk piece of (expletive),’" the complaint says.
Jason Zehe
"It sounds like, perhaps, you have a drinking problem," Herring told Zehe.
Flight for Life responded and flew one victim, later identified as 17-year-old Megan Voss, to a hospital. She died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. The other people involved in the crash had non-life-threatening injuries.
FOX6 News found records of Zehe's prior OWI from April that was ultimately dismissed – and a speeding ticket where Zehe was traveling 98 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Megan Voss
Voss was a student at Waukesha West High School. On the day after the crash, dozens of her classmates and her brother put crosses on her parking space at the school.
"She put everyone before herself," senior Tyler Sodemann said. "She was going into the healthcare field because she wanted to help other people."
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"She was friends to everybody. Like, she was best friends with everybody," said senior Trianna Wenzel. "Even if you didn’t know her well, she was that smile in the corner – you could look at her and know everything is going to be okay."
Voss’s brother told FOX6 News the family was looking forward to Voss' graduation this spring. He also said their dog, Bleu, who was in the car with Voss, had to be euthanized because of his injuries.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Voss.