Drake Dodge appears virtually in Winnebago County court, Oct. 11, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Drake Dodge was ordered to stand trial for allegedly striking and killing a pedestrian, then driving away from the scene.
Dodge, 21, waived a preliminary hearing Thursday on the hit & run involving death charge for the Oct. 5 crash which killed Ethan Luaders. Arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 13, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to the scene at 2:55 a.m. on New York Avenue, just east of Algoma Boulevard, near Goss Court. The victim was found lying in the roadway. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
At 11:20 a.m. Saturday, Dodge turned himself in to Oshkosh police. He had been out with friends before returning home.
“He proceeded on New York Avenue and was between Elwood Avenue and Algoma when “a dude came out” and “he was just there” and the Defendant hit him. The Defendant stated that when he hit this person, he stopped, sat there for a second, and then drove around him and stopped near the stop sign at Algoma. The Defendant advised he was freaking out and didn’t know what to do. He advised he “made the dumb decision to drive away instead of call.” The Defendant was not able to answer the question why he drove off but said he’d thought about it ever since it happened,” the complaint states.
Dodge said he had two beers and four mixed drinks between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., but did not believe he was intoxicated at the time. A preliminary breath test was performed at the police station, but registered .000. A blood draw was also performed, but no results are cited in the complaint. Dodge is not charged with any alcohol-related offenses.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Luaders’ family to support his 5-year-old daughter.
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