A Wisconsin man is facing a slew of charges including operating while intoxicated for a crash that killed four people on December 16. If convicted, this would be at least Scott C. Farmer’s fifth drunk driving offense, and the case is shining a light on the state’s drunk driving regulations, according to NBC 26.
Farmer was driving his pickup truck westbound in an eastbound lane in Weyanwega, Wisconsin when he crashed head-on into an SUV with four people in it. Those four siblings — 25-year-old Daniel Gonzalez, 23-year-old Fabian Gonzalez, 14-year-old Lilian Gonzalez and 9-year-old Daniela Gonzalez — were all killed, according to The Kansas City Star. Three of the four siblings were pronounced dead at the scene, and Daniel was taken to the hospital where he later died.
“How can I explain to my wife that all our children are gone?” Kurt Schilling told WBAY.
The siblings’ mother, Paulina Gonzalez-Medina, told the outlet she is heartbroken and her children’s memory will always be with her.
The 47-year-old Farmer has been charged with four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of vehicle, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle while revoked causing death, The Star reports.
Farmer told police after he crashed that he “just spun out” and he “didn’t hit anybody. When asked how much he had to drink, he said “a lot.” Police say they found an open bottle of vodka in the pickup truck. Because of his four previous OWI convictions, he was restricted to a .02 BAC, according to The Star.
There lies the problem… this will be his fifth. NBC 26 explains how it could get to this point:
A significant factor contributing to this issue is Wisconsin’s unique approach to the first offense of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI). Unlike other states, Wisconsin treats the first OWI offense as a civil ordinance violation rather than a criminal offense. This legal distinction has been a point of contention for victims, families and advocacy organizations for decades.
Local criminal defense attorney Aaron Schenk from Schenk Law Firm, LLC in Green Bay, shared insights on how Wisconsin’s laws impact repeat offenders. He highlighted the discretionary nature of revoking a license, even after multiple OWI convictions.
“Since we’re so easy on it on offense, number one, things are going to gradually increase and there’s not going to be a whole lot of wiggle room as we move forward. So when you get to your second, third offense, you’re dealing with mandatory jail time, if you get convicted, you’re dealing with a mandatory driver’s license revocation, you’re dealing with a mandatory ignition interlock device, and then when you get to a fourth offense, it becomes a felony. And then when you move to a fifth or sixth defense, you’re dealing with the presumptive minimum period in prison. So that’s kind of how the penalties accelerate from one to five and then beyond,” Schenk says.
It’s fairly easy to see how Wisconsin OWI laws can be seen as either a deterrent or a slap on the wrist — which isn’t where you want to be when it comes to drunk driving.
In 2022, 184 people were killed in impaired driving crashes, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.