WAUKESHA, Wis. — A Waukesha woman is accused of getting drunk, hitting a man, and leaving him nearly dead in the street. The 63-year-old victim had multiple broken bones, bleeding in the brain, and damage to his heart. He was found by a passerby in the street.
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Tara Felten, 57, appeared in court Monday afternoon to hear the charges against her. The crash occurred downtown at Whiterock and Hartwell Avenues. Court Commissioner Daniel Rieck said when police questioned her, she asked what she had hit.
"To question whether it was a person or a squirrel was mind-blowing," Rieck said.
Helen Bishara, who lives next to the crash site, says around 6:15 p.m. Saturday, her family heard a strange noise outside, but nothing indicated someone was trying to avoid a crash.
"No screeching of the wheels braking. It was just a thud, until lights showed up in front of our house," Helen said.
She says by the time they looked outside, the driver was gone, but they did see car parts and debris while paramedics worked to save the victim.
"They had to work with him for quite a long time before loading him into the ambulance. They had to stabilize him first," Helen said.
This is Felten’s third OWI charge, with her most recent one less than a year ago. Police say when they questioned Felten, her concern was not the victim.
"The fact that there was someone lying on the ground with a brain bleed, with compound fractures, with injuries to one's aorta, that was secondary at best, almost tertiary at best to, 'Oh my God, I have an OWI third,'" said Rieck.
Felten was given a $40,000 cash bail. She will be back in court Jan. 13 to enter a plea.
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