A 24-year-old man has been charged in the February death of a Wauwatosa priest. Court documents indicate he was using Snapchat at the time of the crash.
Clay Schueffner is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle, which carries a potential sentence of up to ten years imprisonment, a $25,000 fine or both.
According to the medical examiner, Father David Gau was crossing the street from St. Camillus on Wisconsin Avenue to a nearby park. Court documents show Schueffner hit Gau with his GMC Sierra around 1:45 p.m.
He told officers he was leaving work in construction at Froedtert Hospital and looked down at his cellphone's GPS. Schueffner says he took his eyes from the road for about four seconds and saw Gau when he looked back up — he told officers there wasn't enough time to react.
Security footage obtained by police does not show Schueffner slowing, swerving, or braking for Gau, according to the criminal complaint. He also admitted to driving 42 mph in a 35 mph zone. Court documents indicate the impact was strong enough to throw Gau into the air, but that Schueffner stopped immediately and got out of his truck to check on Gau.
Police were also able to review downloads from Schueffner's cellphone, which showed he was using Snapchat at the time of the crash. Court documents indicate he took three different selfies while driving, and sent them to three separate Snapchat users. One second before Schueffner is accused of hitting Gau with his truck, police say he opened a Snapchat video message. Police say Schueffner didn't mention Snapchat at all during their investigation.
Schueffner is scheduled for an initial hearing in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Friday, May 24th at 1:30 p.m.
Read the full criminal complaint here:
Clay Schueffner Criminal Complaint by TMJ4 News on Scribd
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