Colten Treu of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, turns himself in after fleeing a hit and run scene in Lake Hallie which left three Girl Scout girls and an adult dead.
Three Girl Scouts and an adult have been killed after a pickup truck lurched off a road in western Wisconsin and fatally striking them as they stood by the side of the road- before driving off.
Surviving Saturday morning’s hit and run was a fourth girl who was left critically injured.
The driver of the black Ford F-150 pickup truck fled the scene but later turned himself in, Sgt Daniel Sokup of the Lake Hallie Police Department said.
Colton Treu, 21, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin was identified as the driver.
The crash happened late Saturday morning as the girls were picking up litter in a ditch in Lake Hallie, a town about 95 miles east of Minneapolis.
https://youtu.be/wGjNSlZql2U
Chippewa Falls drivers known to exceed 35mph speed limit:
The girls – fourth graders at Halmstad Elementary School in Chippewa Falls – were all wearing bright safety vests and were accompanied by several adults.
Two of the girls and the woman were pronounced dead at the scene. A third Girl Scout was transported to a hospital where she later died, Sokup said.
The fourth girl was transported to a hospital in critical condition. The names of the dead were not immediately released.
Sokup said Treu will be charged with four counts of homicide through the negligent use of a vehicle. Sokup said the crash happened before a hill and there were no blind spots.
‘The area is not an unsafe area,’ he said. Sokup said it was not immediately known if there were other factors that might have led the driver to leave the road.’
Of note, the Star Tribune cited residents and local business owners near the site of the crash saying that the site is notoriously dangerous. They said that drivers tend to speed down that stretch of road, going much faster than the limit, which is 35MPH.
Chippewa County hit and run victims identified: history of DUI
A vigil is planned at 6 p.m. Sunday at a Chippewa Falls, Wis., school for those killed and injured when a driver hit a group of Girl Scouts picking up litter. https://t.co/TiCajmghcy pic.twitter.com/SVHUIyJd2M
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) November 4, 2018
Tonight we are thinking of the Lake Hallie/Chippewa Falls community as they deal with this horrible tragedy. These families and emergency personnel who responded will never be the same. Please, please, please pay attention when you are driving. 602 pic.twitter.com/15XoMI5qt4
— UW-Eau Claire Police (@UWEC_POLICE) November 4, 2018
