Three teens seriously injured in rollover crash
Quinn M. Wendt, 19, Appleton, is charged with three counts each of causing injury while intoxicated with a minor in the vehicle, OWI causing injury and operating while suspended with minors in the vehicle.
On Thursday, Aug. 18, Waupaca County sheriff’s deputies responded to a crash on Hillside Road in the town of Union.
They found a white Dodge Charger with extensive damage several yards off the roadway. Damage to the roof indicated that the vehicle had flipped over at least once.
One person was pinned under the vehicle and another was trapped inside. A girl was found on her knees in the grass about 25 yards behind the vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint, Wendt had been the driver, with three passengers in the back and one passenger in the front.
The passenger trapped in the car suffered a major concussion and will need cognitive therapy. Her back was broken in three places, but she did not suffer any spinal nerve damage.
The teen who had been pinned under the car suffered severe gashes to both arms and a deep laceration to his face. He was airlifted to ThedaCare in Neenah.
The girl found outside the vehicle suffered a jaw broken in two places. Her jaw had to be wired shut and she will need a permanent plate attached to her jaw, the complaint says. Her pelvis was fractured, as were bones in her back, the complaint says.
One of the passengers told deputies that they had been swimming and drinking hard iced tea and beer.
Wendt has multiple citations for operating while suspended: in Waupaca County on Aug. 15 and June 8; in Calumet County on July 18; and in Outagamie County on Aug. 24, May 11, and Oct. 27, 2021.
A citation for operating while suspended remains open in Waushara County.
Wendt is currently in custody in Waupaca County jail on a $10,000 cash bond.