Woman was drunk at time of fatal crash

By Journal Times staff

Friday, August 15, 2008 9:17 AM CDT

RACINE — The woman who allegedly drove drunk and fatally struck a bicyclist had a blood-alcohol concentration more than twice the legal limit.

Janell Gehrke, of the Town of Norway, is charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, hit and run resulting in death, hit and run causing great bodily harm, drunken driving causing injury and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration causing injury.

Nancy Sellars of Franklin died after she was struck on July 9 near Raymond by a vehicle operated by Gehrke. Thomas Chopp was critically injured in the crash.

When police spoke with Gehrke, she told police that she had taken medication for attention deficit disorder and had “a few beers” before the alleged crash. Her car had a dent in the right quarter panel, and paint had been scraped off. A windshield wiper blade had been torn off and there was severe shattering of the windshield’s safety glass.

The passenger mirror was broken and bent, and there was denting and paint loss to the passenger side of the vehicle’s roof.

Gehrke failed field sobriety tests and submitted to an evidentiary blood draw. The results showed her blood-alcohol concentration to be 0.118. The legal limit is 0.08.

Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!