Iola suspect has prior drunken driving offense

The Iola man who crashed a car while allegedly fleeing police is now in custody on a $10,000 cash bond.

Lucas M. Hohn, 21, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, fleeing an officer, a second drunken driving offense, operating after revocation and hit and run.

At 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 15, a 911 caller reported an underage drinking party at an abandoned house on the E300 block of Bestul Road in rural Scandinavia.

The caller reported there were social media posts inviting 300 people to the party.
Shortly after 10 p.m., deputies began arriving at the scene.

They reported hearing glass breaking, then saw people running toward their vehicles to leave.

Waupaca County Sheriff’s deputies Justin Malueg and Alec Brockman began to close down Bestul Road to keep potentially intoxicated drivers off the road.

As Malueg was slowly traveling east on Bestul, he saw an oncoming westbound vehicle and immediately activated the emergency lights on his patrol car.

Since there were pedestrians and vehicles along the shoulder of the road, there was little room for two vehicles to pass each other.

According to the criminal complaint, the oncoming Volkswagen Jetta continued speeding toward Malueg, swerved around his squad car and struck the passenger side.

Malueg’s vehicle was disabled.

Brockman began pursuing the westbound Jetta. He reported it reached speeds up to 100 mph, sometimes veering into the eastbound lane of Bestul Road.

About a mile after leaving the party, the Jetta reportedly crossed the eastbound lane, entered the south shoulder, lost control, went airborne and rolled over several times after landing. It apparently hit a pole, causing power lines to drop into the roadway.

Brockman found a smoking car on its wheels in a field. He helped the driver out of the vehicle, checked him for injuries and escorted him back to the road. A driver’s license identified him as Lucas Hohn.

After a trip to ThedaCare in Waupaca, Hohn was taken to jail.

In addition to his criminal charges, Hohn was also cited for speeding, operating left of center, displaying an unauthorized license plate, open intoxicants and failure to keep a vehicle under control.

On June 10, Hohn was convicted of his first drinking and driving offense. Judge Troy Nielsen revoked Hohn’s license for seven months and ordered him to pay $937 in fines and court costs.