Scott Farmer appears in Waupaca County Court Dec. 26, 2023. (Image courtesy Waupaca County Courts/Zoom)
WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Scott Farmer, the suspect in a drunk driving crash which killed four siblings, does not yet have an attorney, so the case remains on hold.
Farmer, 47, has been charged with six counts – including four of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle – in connection with the Dec. 16 crash which killed Daniel, Fabian, Lilian and Daniela Gonzalez.
Visitation for the Gonzalez siblings was 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at Weyauwega-Fremont High School. It continues there at 9 a.m. Wednesday until a service at 11 a.m.
In court Tuesday, Farmer said he did not qualify for services from the public defender’s office and was told to apply for a county-appointed attorney.
Judge Raymond Huber gave him time to complete that application, and set the case for another status hearing Jan. 9. The next step in the criminal process will be a preliminary hearing.
If he qualifies for the service, Farmer would be required to re-pay the county for the attorney fees. Farmer remains in jail, being held on a $750,000 cash bond.
Outside the courtroom, supporters of the Gonzalez siblings demonstrated with signs demanding justice for the victims and no more chances for Farmer.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a report of a wrong-way driver on Highway 10, near County X, in Weyauwega. The crash happened at about 9:15 p.m. on Dec. 16.
“He is terribly sorry. That does not bring those poor children back,” said Jaime Farmer, Scott Farmer’s wife, who was at Tuesday’s hearing. “We as a family are grieving them as well.”
Farmer’s truck was travelling westbound in the eastbound lane, and crashed into the other vehicle. Three people in the crash died at the scene. The driver, Daniel, was transported to the hospital, but died Sunday, the complaint states.
“Scott’s decision has just destroyed the future of four beautiful lives,” said Kurt Schilling, the step father of the victims, who also attended the hearing.
A medic told police there was a large bottle of vodka by Farmer. “I just spun out,” Farmer told police.
The officer described the conversation:
“I asked him if he had hit anybody and he replied, “I didn’t hit anybody”. I observed an open bottle of vodka in the center console area, just to the right of his right leg. It was approximately 3/4 full I could smell a strong odor of intoxicants emanating from inside of the vehicle. I observed Scott to have bloodshot and glassy (or watery) eyes. His eyelids were droopy. He had a very slow, thick, and slurred speech. His speech was incoherent at times and his sentences would trail off so I could not understand them. His facial movements were slow and delayed, specifically his facial and eye movements. He also would not listen when asked to stay still in his seat. He attempted to crawl over to the passenger side of the vehicle at one point. These observations are all indicative of impairment, more specifically impairment caused by consuming alcohol,” the officer wrote.
While in the ambulance, Farmer was asked how much he had to drink, to which he replied, “A lot.” When asked what day it was, he responded Feb. 12. When asked how fast he was driving, he replied “(Expletive) 75.”
If convicted, it would be Farmer’s fifth OWI conviction after previous offenses of Oct. 6, 1999, Sept. 18, 2001, Nov. 29, 2006 and Dec. 18, 2019. His driver’s license was revoked at the time of the crash.
Also, because of the previous convictions, his legal limit for driving would be .02, instead of .08. The criminal complaint does not cite a breath test, but said a blood draw would performed.
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