LOCAL NEWS
Sat 15-Jul-2000
Teen facing adult court for drunken snowmobile death
By Dan Wilson Post-Crescent staff writer
A 16-year-old Fremont youth was waived into adult court Friday by Outagamie County Circuit Judge Joseph Troy on a charge of causing death by drunken driving.
The youth was the driver of a snowmobile on Feb. 13 when he was involved in an accident which killed his passenger, Michael M. Colden, 17, also of Fremont.
The Post-Crescent is not naming the youth pending the filing of charges.
"The thoughtless decision to take Michael for a ride without a helmet at speeds of to 95 miles an hour, well, it is not surprising that a tragedy ensued," Troy said.
Troy more than once said how difficult these kinds of cases are for judges, but said the determining factor was the age of the defendant, who is now seven months from his 17 birthday and would only be available for juvenile treatment to the age of 19.
"That is an inadequate period of time to monitor your behavior," said Troy. "You need to be supervised until you reach a higher level of maturity, and that is simply not available under the juvenile system."
Troy ordered the youth be placed under a signature bond. An initial appearance date on the adult charge is pending.
The snowmobile struck a tree just east of County D and north of U.S. 10 in the Town of Dale, killing Colden instantly, about 1:30 a.m. Feb. 13. At the time, Colden's death tied a state record of 34 snowmobile deaths for the season.
The driver of the vehicle, the defendant, was only 11 days short of his 16th birthday.
The driver suffered a broken arm in the crash.
In the delinquency petition filed Monday, neither the driver nor passenger were wearing helmets and both had attended a beer party in the area earlier that evening.
According to blood test results, the youth tested a blood-alcohol concentration of .109 percent, which exceeds the limit for evidence of intoxication.
According to witness interviews contained in the delinquency petition, the youth told others he was traveling about 75 miles per hour when he went off the marked trail and struck a tree.
According to another witness statement, the youth had had two prior accidents with snowmobiles, one of which resulted in injuries.