Wisconsin Man Who Mowed Down Girl Scouts Was Huffing At The Time Of Crash
Colten Treu is the name of the man arrested for hitting three Girl Scouts and a parent supervisor who were picking up trash along the roadside in Lafayette, Wisconsin.
Treu had been huffing or inhaling chemical vapors from a can of air duster used to clean computer keyboards when he crashed his truck into the group, killing the three girls and one adult. The Daily Mail says the dead are 9-year-old Jayna Kelley, Autumn Helgeson, 10, Haylee Hickle, 10, and her mother, Sara Jo Schneider, 32.
Robin Kelley, the mother of Jayna and the Girl Scout Troop leader, said there was no warning before the truck plowed into the group.
“There was no warning. It was fast. It was from behind. No one could turn around. All the girls, they’re family. They were Jayna’s closest friends.”
Kelley said the girls had just posed for a group photo when Treu drove through them. When apprehended by the police, Treu admitted that he had been huffing chemicals at the time of the crash along with his passenger.
CNN said that the girls and Schneider were all wearing the requisite neon vests when they were hit by the man who was impaired at the time of the crash.
@MikeGalanosHLN @HLNTV #coltentreu was out on bond from an accident in Rusk Co for driving under the influence! Police found meth, THC and other drug paraphernalia. He also drove into a garage in August and never tested. pic.twitter.com/wthbbdc7o2
— Herkie (@itsmeherkie) November 6, 2018
The Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office says that Colten Treu is facing four counts of “homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle,” four counts of hit-and-run involving death and one count of hit-and-run involving great bodily harm.
The District Attorney for Chippewa County Wade Newell says that Treu had been arrested before for using drugs behind the wheel, says Oxygen.
“Officers did a field sobriety test and noticed his impairment.”
In the truck, police found marijuana and meth as well as the electronics cleaner. Newell added that Treu also had a 2014 drunk driving arrest at age 17.
Judge James Isaacson granted Treu $250,000 cash bond, but he is still in custody at this time, as he has now been charged formally on eleven separate counts, according to the local ABC affiliate which reported that Treu has had a suspended license in the past.
“Court records show the driver authorities suspect was huffing before hitting and killing three Girl Scouts and a mother in Wisconsin on Saturday has been charged with four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of vehicle, four counts of hit-and-run involving death, one count of hit-and-run involving great bodily harm, one count of bail jumping and one count of intentionally abusing a hazardous substance.”
