Jason Wright (Photo courtesy: Brown County Jail)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Four charges were filed Thursday against the unlicensed driver who allegedly caused a high-speed crash which injured two people on Green Bay’s northwest side, in what may have been a case of road rage or a drag race.
Jason Wright, Jr., 22, faces two counts of second-degree reckless injury, and two counts of operating a vehicle with a suspended license causing great bodily harm.
At an initial court appearance Thursday, bond was set at $25,000 cash. He returns to court May 8 for a status conference.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Velp and Wilson avenues at about 7 p.m. Tuesday for a traffic crash.
An officer approached Wright at the crash scene.
Jason told me that he “didn’t do nothing” and that he was “tripping.” Jason kept repeating that he was in disbelief because the Challenger was his vehicle. I asked Jason what direction he was traveling and he stated that he could not remember. Jason gestured to the Challenger wreckage and said “that’s not me… I don’t do this [expletive].” I kept asking Jason for details of the crash but he stated he could not think and that it felt “like a movie”. I asked Jason if he had any medical issues that may have caused the accident such as a diabetic emergency and he responded that he is the “healthiest guy ever,” the complaint states.
The officer did not notice any signs of intoxication.
A witness who was travelling behind the two vehicles described it “as a road rage incident and that both the Challenger and truck were racing each other eastbound on Velp Avenue, starting all the way back to the Taco Bell at 1897 Velp Avenue” with speeds topping 70 mph.
A driver in the second vehicle involved in the crash offered this explanation:
“Victim 2 stated that he was pulling out and the other vehicle came flying out of nowhere and he thought that he had lots of room. Victim 2 stated that he tried to accelerate fast to get through the turn and the other vehicle swerved into the opposite lane and struck his vehicle. Victim 2 stated that he was pulling off of Wilson Avenue, making a left turn onto Velp Avenue,” the complaint states.
Another witness estimated the speeds as more than 100 mph.
At the hospital, police later talked to Wright again.
(Wright) stated that while he was driving on Velp Avenue, he noticed a black [truck] with blue headlights following close behind him. He stated that it seemed like the vehicle was “challenging” him, so he was driving really fast. (Wright) estimated that he was traveling 70-80 MPH,” the complaint states.
Although officers saw no sign of intoxication, Wright admitted he smoked marijuana earlier in the day. He consented to a blood draw, according to the complaint.
There are no test results cited in the complaint, and Wright was not charged with operating while intoxicated. However, whereas there are permissible levels of alcohol for vehicle operation, as marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, any detected amount could lead to OWI counts.
Wright’s driver’s license was suspended in connection with an Oconto County case.
Comments