Median drive brings charges

By Patricia Bogumil

Editor

A 39-year-old Waukesha man faces a fifth charge of Operating While Intoxicated after passersby reported a driver was slumped over in a car that had stopped in the median along Highway 36 by the intersection with Big Bend Road.

According to the criminal complaint filed July 20 in Racine County Circuit Court:

A Town of Waterford officer and Racine County sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene about 6 p.m., July 19, in response to reports that the driver appeared to have suffered a seizure.

They found Ryan L. Rasmusson sitting in the driver’s seat and laying across the passenger side of the vehicle, with his head on the passenger door handle.

Rasmusson was breathing,  his eyes were rolled back in his head and he could not respond to officers’ questioning.

A deputy observed that Rasmusson’s VW Jetta had traveled about 120 yards north from the Fox Lane exit, traveling in the grass median of the highway.

The right side tires had traveled in the deepest part of the median the whole distance, and the vehicle had avoided striking road signs.

The vehicle came to a stop in the median after getting mired in water and mud.

Rasmusson, who was unable to stand, was assisted out of the vehicle and transported to Memorial Hospital of Burlington by rescue personnel.

At the hospital, Rasmusson admitted that a green leafy substance found in his pocket was marijuana, which was later confirmed by testing.  He also stated that he had smoked some marijuana earlier in the day.

Rasmusson made an initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court July 20 and was released after posting a $1,000 cash bond.

A motion by his attorney to dismiss the case, based on a lack of probable cause that he committed a crime, was denied.

He is due back in court July 26 for a preliminary hearing, when a judge will decide if there is sufficient evidence to move the case to trial.

If convicted of the felony OWI charge, Rasmusson faces a maximum of $10,000 in fines; six years in prison; or both. He is also charged with first-offense possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of $1,000; six months in jail; or both.