NEWS

Woman pleads not guilty to fatal bike crash

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Gavel and scales

WAUSAU - A Rib Lake woman accused of texting while driving pleaded not guilty Thursday to a homicide charge.

Lorie Ann Miller, 54, is charged in Marathon County court with homicide by negligent driving in connection with the death of Donna David. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

David, a 52-year-old Marshfield resident who taught chemistry at Northcentral Technical College and was a researcher with the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, was killed in July while riding her bike along Marathon County T in the town of McMillan north of Marshfield.

Miller's SUV collided with David's bike on a straight stretch of road on a clear day where there was nothing to obstruct her view of the road, according to court records. Neither she nor David had been drinking, according to blood tests done after the crash.

Miller initially told police that she didn't know how she could have hit David, and she denied using her phone at the time of the crash, records said. But police retrieved data from the phone showing that she had been texting a friend about three minutes before witnesses phoned 911 to report the crash. The text had been deleted, but police found it using special software, according to court records.

When confronted with that information, Miller said she had sent the text messages before leaving work in Arpin, court records said. A deputy explained to her that the last text message she sent likely took about 10 seconds to compose, and if driving at 55 mph, she would have traveled about 800 feet during those 10 seconds, records said.

Miller broke down in tears and told the deputy, "I just want to die. I want to die and take her place," according to court records. She then said she could not remember if she had been texting at the time of the crash.

"Based on the deleted text message, the tests created and the timeline between the text deleted and the 911 call, it is this officer's opinion that Miller was using her mobile device for texting at the time she struck David on her bicycle, causing her death," a deputy wrote in his report.

David had two children and was training for a week-long bike trek across Iowa when she was killed. She also played clarinet in the Marshfield Civic Band and was a triathlete, according to her obituary.

Miller's next court appearance is scheduled for June 3.