Lahti charged with felony Homicide by Intoxicated Use of Vehicle (2nd+) and other charge related to crash that took the life of an 8-year-old Gleason boy in Sept. 2022
TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
John James Lahti, age 42, of Merrill will be formally arraigned in Lincoln County Court on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, charged with Homicide by Intoxicated Use of Vehicle (2nd+) and Causing Injury/Operating While under the Influence (1st) (PAC<0.15), the first a felony charge and the second a misdemeanor. The charges are the result of a crash that occurred early the evening of Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, when the truck Lahti was driving hit another vehicle head-on, on State Hwy. 17 near Sunset Rd. in the Township of Merrill. That second vehicle was occupied by a family of four, and the collision resulted in the death of an 8-year-old Gleason boy and serious injury to his mother, who were passengers, along with minor injuries to a sibling and the boy’s father who was driving.
Lahti sustained minor injuries from the accident, was treated at Aspirus Merrill Hospital, and was then arrested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Lahti made his initial appearance on Sept. 19, 2022. At that time, Lahti appeared from the Lincoln County Jail via video conference and Judge Robert Russell ordered Lahti be held on $500,000 cash bond and cited additional restrictions in the event he is able to post bond and be released.
Since that time, Lahti retained legal counsel and petitioned the court for a modification of his bond, but in a Dec. 21, 2022, hearing on the matter, the Court denied Lahti’s request. On March 13, 2023, Lahti waived his preliminary hearing. On March 17, 2023, Judge Russell granted a motion for Lahti and his attorney to appear remotely at the March 28 arraignment.
If convicted of the first charge, Lahti faces a fine of up to $100,000 and up to 40 years in prison, or both, plus revocation of his operating privileges for five years. The penalties, if convicted of the misdemeanor charge, include a fine of not less than $300 or more than $2,000 and not less than 30 days or more than 1 year in county jail.
The Criminal Complaint on record said an eye witness saw Lahti’s truck cross the center line, coming straight at the vehicle it struck, and while the driver of the second vehicle took evasive action, trying to swerve into the other (oncoming) lane to avoid a crash with Lahti’s truck, the front passenger side of both vehicles took the brunt of the impact.
The Complaint also said Lahti displayed many signs of being impaired by alcohol use when questioned on site, but declined to participate in standard sobriety testing and at times failed to respond at all. Ultimately, he consented to a preliminary breath test, registering .290 Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) at 7:55 p.m., approximately 30 minutes after the crash, which put him at more than three times the legal limit at the time of the crash. A second test taken later registered .223 BrAC at 11:45 p.m. The legal limit in Wisconsin is .08 BrAC or Blood Alcohol Content (BAC).
The Complaint also stated, “In John’s vehicle, Law Enforcement located a 1 liter Korbel Brandy bottle that was slightly over half full. The cap was unsealed and the liquid inside was dark and appeared to be brandy. Law Enforcement unscrewed the cap and smelled the liquor inside and it appeared to be consistent with intoxicating beverages.”
Lahti was previously convicted of Operating While Intoxicated, first offense, on February 24, 2004.