GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The suspect in a fatal drunken driving crash was ordered Monday to stand trial.
20-year-old Zachary Potts waived a preliminary hearing on three counts, including homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, for the Nov. 9 crash in De Pere which killed 20-year-old Bryan Kwarciany.
His arraignment is scheduled for May 8.
According to the criminal complaint:
- Police responded to a car-vs.-tree crash on Terry Lane, early in the morning of Nov. 9. Potts was found by officers in the driver’s seat, injured and asking for help.
- Responders recovered Kwarciany from the passenger seat, but he died several days later. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
- At the hospital and in subsequent interviews, Potts said the two had left a party, but he denied that he was driving.
- A blood test determined Potts’ blood alcohol level was .175, more than twice the legal limit for driving.
- The crash scene investigation determined the 2008 Dodge Charger was travelling at between 57-60 mph when it hit the tree — but had been traveling at 88 mph just five seconds before impact. The posted speed limit was 25 mph.
- Tests found Potts’ DNA on the driver’s side airbag, floorboard and A-pillar of the car. Samples tested from the passenger-side airbag did not match Potts.
