By Shereen Siewert
A 46-year-old man is facing a sixth-offense drunken driving charge after his company van veered off a Hwy. 51 off ramp Wednesday morning and overturned.
Shane Maluegge, who lists a Brokaw address, appeared Nov. 21 in Marathon County Circuit Court on the felony charge and was released after posting a $1,000 cash bond, court records indicate.
According to the incident report, an officer responded at about 10 a.m. Nov. 20 to Hwy. 51 off ramp northbound at Hwy. WW in the village of Maine for a single vehicle crash involving property damage. Police say Maluegge, who called in the crash, left the scene in the same vehicle but was located at his office on North 28th Avenue. Maluegge told the officer he was taking the off ramp headed back to the business, went onto the shoulder, over corrected, then went into the ditch and rolled the vehicle.
Upon further questioning, Maluegge allegedly told police he had consumed alcohol early that morning but had his last beverage at about 3 a.m., seven hours before the crash. In his report, the officer stated he could detect the scent of alcohol and noted Maluegge’s glassy eyes, prompting the officer to conduct field sobriety tests, which Maluegee allegedly failed.
Maluegge initially refused a breath test and was taken to a local hospital for a blood draw. A breath test performed later at the Marathon County Jail indicated a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 percent, eight times the limit imposed on Maluegge due to his five prior OWI convictions between 1992 and 2013, court documents state.
Maleugge was also cited for inattentive driving.
A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 3.
