By Shereen Siewert
An Elcho woman involved in a wrong-way crash while driving home from the fair in Wausau will spend two years on probation after being convicted of third-offense drunken driving.
Police say 23-year-old Tierra R. West registered a 0.265 blood alcohol concentration after the crash and had a loaded firearm in her vehicle when she drove the wrong way on a Hwy. 51 ramp in Wausau.
Police say West left the Wisconsin Valley Fair in 2021, struck a mailbox as she left her parking space on the street, then drove west on Bridge Street to Hwy. 51 where she turned southbound on the northbound ramp. Her vehicle had extensive damage after crashing into a Department of Transportation power box, according to the police report, which temporarily disabled traffic lights on Bridge Street.
West and a passenger in the vehicle were injured in the crash but their injuries were not serious.
Police recovered a loaded 9mm pistol from the glove box of the vehicle and seized the weapon into evidence. West, who also had a handgun magazine inside her purse, told police she had a concealed carry permit, but permit holders are not allowed to carry a loaded gun while intoxicated.
During an April hearing in Marathon County Circuit Court, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser sentenced West on the drunken driving charge and dismissed charges of operating a firearm while intoxicated and bail jumping as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
West was ordered to serve 45 days in jail as part of the agreement and must maintain absolute sobriety from alcohol. She is prohibited from entering any bar, tavern, liquor store or beer tent and will lose her license for 30 months. A fine of $3,256 was also imposed, according to court documents.
