MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A woman charged with drunk driving in the crash which killed her granddaughter plans to argue at trial the crash would have happened regardless if she was intoxicated, her attorney said Tuesday.
Monica Walker, 52, is charged with three counts, including homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, for the Feb. 8 crash on I-43 which killed Tykia Brewer, 9.
The trial had been scheduled to start Feb. 1, but was postponed indefinitely Tuesday, due in part to the fact a report from the Wisconsin State Patrol about the crash just arrived this week. A scheduling conference will be held in a few weeks to pick a new trial date.
According to the complaint, Walker and Brewer were driving to Green Bay to pick up Walker’s daughter, who is Brewer’s mother. She said hit an icy patch on Interstate 43, lost control of the car, and it rolled over. Brewer, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and died. The crash happened at about 8:40 a.m.
Walker said she started drinking about 9 p.m. Sunday night. She had a couple of beers at home, then went to a bar. She had a “few” pints of apple vodka, but stopped drinking around midnight. She said the crash was caused by her eating a hamburger while driving and the icy conditions, not because of the alcohol.
A preliminary breath test showed a BAC of .092, higher than the usual limit of .08. However, because of a prior drunk driving conviction, Walker was supposed to have an ignition interlock device, and her legal driving limit was .02, the complaint states. The complaint does not indicate if the vehicle had an interlock device.
During Tuesday’s hearing, defense attorney Michael Griesbach said if the trial happens, he could introduce the affirmative defense that the crash would have happened regardless of Walker’s level of intoxication. Because the crash report just arrived, he needs time to review that and determine if he needs to hire any experts to support the argument.
District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre agreed with the request to postpone the trial, which is scheduled to last three days.
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