A Franksville man is charged with a felony offense after allegedly dragging his overdosing friend to the side of the road and leaving him for dead in Burlington on Saturday.
Brett M. Baumann, 22, was charged Monday in Racine County Circuit Court with first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
At about 1:50 p.m. Saturday, the Racine County Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a possible drug overdose victim laying in the grass at the intersection South Millgate Drive and East Main Street in the Village of Rochester.
When the first deputy arrived, a civilian was performing chest compressions on the 20-year-old man who was pulseless and not breathing. The deputy administered a dose of Narcan, which is carried in all Racine County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicles. The opiate antidote took immediate affect and the person began breathing on his own.
Investigation into the matter showed the man was riding in a vehicle with Baumann and began to show signs of overdosing. Baumann pulled over and was seen pulling the man from and then dragging him away from the car. Baumann then told someone to call 911 and fled the area in his car, according to the Racine County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies on scene were able to get a description of the vehicle and within minutes located it and the driver a short distance away. Baumann indicated he left the subject in an attempt to find Narcan to help his friend, however, he was found in a residential area driving away from the scene.
The overdose subject was conveyed to a local hospital where he was treated and eventually released. Baumann was arrested and charged with drugged driving based on his admission to being on heroin himself and first-degree recklessly endangering safety for leaving his friend in the grass in the medical condition in which he was found.
Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said he is “very proud to report that my deputies saved yet another life from overdosing on opioids.”
“I hope the overdose subject gets the treatment and help he clearly needs,” he said. “ In contrast, I struggle to understand what type of person leaves their friend to die. I can only hope our justice system makes an example out of him.”
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