Defendant in fatal crash has deadly driving record

STEVENS POINT, WI (AP) — A woman charged in a fatal drunken driving crash in central Wisconsin was involved in another deadly car accident in Illinois, according to prosecutors.

A criminal complaint filed in Portage County charges Hanna Schacht, 23, with homicide by drunken driving in the death of 51-year-old Daniel Wetzel, of Lanark.

Wetzel was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his son, Richard, who pulled out of a driveway on a road parallel to Highway 54 east of Stevens Point on Sunday and was struck by Schacht’s vehicle, according to the complaint. Sheriff’s officials said Schacht had a preliminary blood alcohol content of 0.15 — nearly twice the legal limit.

Schacht, of Amherst, was charged in 2012 with failing to report a fatal accident in Woodstock, Ill. Portage County Assistant District Attorney David Knaapen said a man on the roof of a car Schacht was driving fell and died. Schacht served jail time as a result, Knaapen said.

A passenger riding with Schacht on Sunday said Schacht ignored her request to slow down before the crash, Stevens Point Journal Media reported.

Richard Wetzel was taken to Theda Clark Hospital in Neenah following the crash. Schacht and three passengers in her vehicle were not seriously injured, officials said.