By Shereen Siewert
A 54-year-old Wausau man who left the scene of a crash to get “some more booze” will spend four years in prison after being convicted of his seventh drunken driving charge.
Randy Svendsen was convicted last week in Marathon County Circuit Court of the felony drunken driving charge. As part of a plea agreement, an additional charges of hit-and-run causing injury and operating after revocation were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing purposes.
The crash happened the afternoon of Dec. 20, 2019 at the intersection of Sherman Street and South 17th Avenue. A woman called 911 to report her vehicle was struck by a driver who fled the crash scene.
The driver who reported the crash told police she had a green traffic signal and was struck when the vehicle’s other driver rapidly accelerated and turned in front of her, causing her vehicle to spin her car around toward other traffic. Additional witnesses confirmed the driver’s story and identified the license plate, which led police to Svendsen.
When police arrived at Svendsen’s residence, he didn’t answer the door, but officers could see the vehicle inside the garage with a license plate that matched the description and damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle, court documents state.
While at the home, police heard radio traffic for a medical call nearby for a man lying unconscious on the sidewalk with a gash to his head. That man turned out to be Svendsen, who was transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital by ambulance.
According to the criminal complaint, after Svendsen’s initial medical assessment, Svendsen admitted to police he “ran into a car” and said, “Well, I was drunk driving.”
When asked how much he had to drink, Svendsen allegedly replied, “Too (expletive) much, cop,” according to court documents.
He also allegedly told police he left the scene and went to a nearby convenience store for “more booze,” then went home to drink “some more booze,” court documents state.
Svendsen, who was being held on a $50,000 cash bond since his initial court appearance, was granted 555 days credit for time served. At sentencing, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser also ordered Svendson to spend five years on extended supervision after he finishes his initial prison term.
His driving privileges are revoked for three years.
