Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Waupaca County sheriff’s deputies arrested a man who was suspected of a drunken driving offense after crashing his motorcycle.
Michael S. Steinfest. 65, Waupaca. is charged with a seventh offense of operating wile intoxicated.
It may be an eighth OWI because in addition to six prior convictions, Steinfest was charged with a seventh OWI in December 2023. That case has not been resolved yet and he was out on a $500 cash bond at the time of the crash.
Shortly after 4:25 a.m. Saturday, July 27, Deputies Jesse Minehan and Eric Kamholz were dispatched to a motorcycle crash on County Trunk J in the town of Iola.
Dispatch advised the deputies that Steinfest was the motorcycle’s operator, he was not injured and could be found walking along County J. His girlfriend had called 911 to report the crash.
The deputies found Steinfest walking along the road and his motorcycle was on its side in a nearby ditch.
Based on the tire tracks in the grass, Minehan determined that the motorcycle had been northbound on County J, failed to negotiate a curve and went off the road.
According to the criminal complaint, Steinfest told the deputy that a deer ran into the side of his bike. He also said he was on his way home to Waupaca from Antigo, and may have spent four hours lying in the ditch after the crash before calling his girlfriend. “Or at least it felt that way,” he reportedly said.
Minehan asked Steinfest if he needed an ambulance because his lip was swollen and bloody. Steinfest was also stumbling, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, the complaint says.
Kamholz searched for but was unable to locate a deer or find deer hair on the motorcycle. Deputies reported finding an open can of beer wedged in the bike’s handlebars.
Steinfest said he had three to four beers, and drank his last beer while at his parents’ house in Antigo.
Deputies also questioned him about why he was going northbound on County J when Waupaca was south of Antigo and his current location.
After Steinfest refused to submit to a preliminary breath test, Minehan took him into custody.
Initially, Steinfest was handcuffed with his hands behind his back and placed in the back of the squad car.
“Michael appeared very uncomfortable, so I asked him if he wanted to switch to a waist restraint and thus be handcuffed in front. Michael agreed and was further assisted into a waist restraint by Deputy Kamholz after I removed the handcuffs,” Minehand reported.
Steinfest then complained about being very hot. Deputies removed him from the vehicle to take off his motorcycle jacket.
As he was being removed. Steinfest’s knees buckled and he fell, the complaint says.
He began sweating profusely. Deputies called for an ambulance that transported Steinfest to ThedaCare in Waupaca. He was later transferred to ThedaCare in Neenah, where he remained as of the time of his scheduled court appearance on the afternoon of July 30.
After Steinfest was convicted of his sixth OWI, he was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of extended supervision on Feb. 22, 2012.
He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of a seventh or eighth OWI.
