WAUKESHA, Wis. — A million-dollar bond has been set for a man charged with killing two people in a construction zone crash in Pewaukee.
Court records state Jade Moen claimed to have "blacked out" due to epilepsy before a string of crashes. However, prosecutors say Moen knew he should not have been driving, and turned his vehicle into a weapon.
Moen shuffled quietly into a Waukesha County Courtroom Thursday afternoon the day after a deadly crash in Pewaukee. He is accused of killing two people and seriously injuring a third on Capitol Drive and Pewaukee Road on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Chelsea Thompson wanted a million-dollar bond for Moen and she says she knows that is usually a big ask even for someone now facing seven felonies including two counts of reckless homicide.
"I understand that asking for $1 million for cash bail for someone who is 49 years old with no prior record is a higher ask. But the unbelievable danger that he poses to every single person in this community is quite frankly terrifying,” said Thompson.
Witnesses say the driver never slowed down as he crashed into multiple vehicles on Wednesday
After the crash, court records show Moen handed police a driver's license with the words VOID stamped across it. He told officers said he blacked out while driving and that he had epilepsy.
"I think it is a little bit unfair that he is described to be someone who doesn't care,” said Jonathan LaVoy, Moen’s defense attorney. “He was taking proper medicine and not suffering from seizures recently.”
However, prosecutors say this is not the first crash he has had. In the last few years, he has had a series of crashes around the area including one that led to him surrendering his license in 2021. Court Commissioner David Herring held up his long list of past crashes to the courtroom before ordering that one million dollar bail.
“Mr. Moen had no business behind the wheel of a vehicle. He just didn't. Zero. Whether we want to say that is an allegation or not. It is a reality. It is something he was aware of,” said Herring.
His attorney had asked for a $25,000 bail, which the judge denied. Prosecutors say the cause of the crash has still not been determined as they are awaiting blood tests coming back on the defendant.
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