DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – A 20-year-old Manitowoc man is charged with killing his friend after he drunkenly crashed his vehicle into a tree.
Zachary Potts is facing felony counts of First Degree Reckless Homicide, Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle, and Homicide by Use of a Vehicle with a Prohibited Alcohol Content.
According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to a car-versus-tree accident in De Pere during the early hours of November 9.
Officers say Potts was found in the driver’s seat, injured and asking for help. While he denies driving after the two left a party that night, investigators say Potts DNA was found on multiple driver’s side car parts, including the airbag.
The complaint says Potts’ 20-year-old passenger, Brian Kwarciany, was taken to the hospital and died several days later from injuries sustained in the crash.
Neither man was reportedly wearing a seatbelt.
Prosecutors say Potts’ blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit and believe he was traveling 88 miles-per-hour in a 25 mile-per-hour zone just seconds before the collision.
Potts was scheduled to make an initial appearance in a Brown County courtroom Wednesday.
If convicted on all counts, Potts faces up to 95 years in prison.
