RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU) — A Marathon County woman will be headed to trial for her role in a UTV crash that killed her boyfriend.
Brenda Reiche of Wausau was in court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing in Oneida County Circut Court. At the hearing, Reiche waived the preliminary and was bound over for trial.
Reiche also pleaded not guilty to counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle and homicide by use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration at the hearing. She is currently free on a $10,000 signature bond.
The charges stem from a 2018 incident where Reiche was intoxicated and crashed a UTV in the Oneida County Town of Nokomis after leaving a tavern where she admitted to having a few drinks.
Reiche had denied driving the UTV but evidence collected at the scene and the crash reconstruction points to her being behind the wheel at the time of the crash. The 48-year-old’s BAC registered at .236 when it was taken more than an hour after the crash.
The crash killed Adam Reitz, who was partially ejected from the vehicle when it struck a tree after failing to negotiate a curve in the road. Officials say wet road conditions may have also contributed to the incident.
Reiche will return to court on April 14th for a pre-trial conference.
