Driver who hit, killed woman charged with OWI homicide

A pickup truck driver who hit and killed an 83-year-old Town of Saukville woman while she was cutting grass in her yard last month was charged in Ozaukee County Circuit Court Tuesday with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.

West Bend resident Matthew R. Anderson, 34, told authorities he was driving home after golfing in Kewaskum on Saturday, May 16, when he crossed the center line of Highway Y, veered off the road and hit Marlene Braun before his truck slammed into and snapped a utility pole, according to the criminal complaint.

Anderson told authorities he drank three beers while golfing, and a sheriff’s deputy noticed the odor of alcohol on his breath. After refusing to take a breath test while under medical care at the scene, Anderson consented to a blood test taken an hour-and-a-half after the accident that showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .09, the criminal complaint states. A level of .08 is considered evidence of intoxication in Wisconsin.

He was cited for first-offense drunken driving shortly after the accident. 

Anderson was driving his Ford F-150 south on Highway Y near Cedar Sauk Road at 3:35 p.m. when he crossed into the northbound lane, then into the Braun’s yard. 

There were no tire marks on the road indicating a sudden correction in the direction of the vehicle, leading a deputy to conclude that the truck gradually strayed from the southbound lane, crossed the northbound lane and sped into the yard before hitting the utility pole, according to the complaint. 

The middle section of the pole was on the ground while the top section was suspended by wires, which led investigators to believe Anderson’s truck was traveling at a high rate of speed when he hit it.

A deputy found Braun’s body near the pole.

While being treated at the scene, Anderson complained about the effects of a chronic physical condition he suffers from.

Anderson has been released from jail in lieu of $5,000 bail. 

Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle is punishable by a maximum 15 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision.