The driver of the semi-truck involved in the Oct. 16 Chippewa Falls Marching Band bus crash that killed five people, including UW-Eau Claire senior Branden Atherton, now faces an additional eight charges.
Michael J. Kozlowski, 23, of Schererville, Ind., appeared in Eau Claire County Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing before his arraignment on Friday.
Eau Claire County District Attorney Richard White added five counts of reckless driving causing great bodily harm and three counts of reckless driving causing injury, increasing the total to 33 counts according to court records.
White also upgraded two misdemeanors to felony counts in an attempt to better reflect the severity and number of people who were injured in the crash, he said.
Inspector Tom Walters of Wisconsin State Patrol was one of several witnesses to testify for the state during the hearing.
The only officer to take a statement from Kozlowski, Walters testified that Kozlowski said he had been in the process of pulling over to go to the bathroom when he lost control of the vehicle – one of many inconsistencies, he said, in Kozlowski’s story.
“He was approximately three miles past the Osseo exit, and there are several 24-hour truck stops, well-lit in the area,” Walters said.
Lawrence Quarles, a witness cited in the criminal complaint, also testified, saying he was concerned when the truck began drifting to the right of the lane on Interstate 94, minutes before the crash took place.
“The truck passed me at one point very closely and actually almost forced me out of my lane,” Quarles said. He said he had seen the truck multiple times between Madison and Osseo.
Eau Claire County Judge William Gabler decided prosecutors presented enough evidence for Kozlowski to stand trial and said he would like to establish a timeline for the case at a March 22 status conference.
Kozlowski’s defense attorney Earl Gray of St. Paul, Minn., said that with thousands of pages of police reports to go through and a possible crash-scene reconstruction, he’s not sure he will have enough time to get all his questions answered.
“I still don’t know when I’ll know when I’ll be ready to try this case,” he said in court.
Gray also said he has several other trials scheduled for 2006, including that of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper in April.
While the defense said the incident was purely an accident, White said he stands by his decision to press charges.
“I’ve thought long and hard about this case,” he said in a statement Friday.
“And regardless of what the defense attorney’s position is at this particular point, my position remains quite firm as to what I believe took place here.”
Gray entered a plea of not guilty to all counts on behalf of his client, who is currently out on a $50,000 signature bond.
