Woman faces years in prison for causing fatal Hwy. 33 crash

A 35-year-old Milwaukee woman who was on drugs when she collided with an oncoming vehicle on Highway 33 in the Town of Saukville a year ago pleaded no contest last week to causing the death of a 68-year-old woman.

Dominque S. Kazee, who is guilty of homicide by vehicle while using a controlled substance, now faces a recommendation from Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol that she be sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision.

She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Steve Cain on Dec. 9.

Just before noon on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, Kazee, who a witness said was driving a 2019 Dodge Challenger recklessly shortly before the crash, hit a 2018 GMC Acadia sport utility vehicle head-on while attempting to pass a semi truck in a no-passing zone.

The driver of the SUV, Michael Strobel, 67, of Kewaskum, and his wife Jane, who was a passenger in the vehicle, were taken to separate hospitals. Mrs. Strobel died a day after the accident at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa. 

According to authorities, Kazee was driving west on Highway 33 when, on a stretch of highway near Singing Hill Road that has a slight hill and bends to the right, she entered the oncoming lane of traffic to pass the semi and hit the SUV.

The Strobels were trapped in their vehicle and had to be extricated. Mr. Strobel suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung, according to the complaint.

A driver who said he saw Kazee driving west on Highway 33 in the Village of Saukville shortly before the crash told authorities that she sped away from traffic lights, cut in between him and another vehicle and passed a pickup truck on a curve near the fire station, the complaint states.

A test later revealed that Kazee had the active ingredient in marijuana in her system at the time of the crash.

At last week’s hearing, Cain revoked Kazee’s bail and ordered her jailed until her sentencing. She had been free in lieu of a $25,000 signature bond.