CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — The driver of a pickup truck that struck and killed three Girl Scouts and one of their mothers in rural Wisconsin has pleaded not guilty.
Twenty-two-year-old Colten Treu, of Chippewa Falls, was charged with 10 felonies in November 2018, including four counts of second degree homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, and four counts of hit and run involving death.
On Nov. 3, 2018, a group of fourth-grade Girl Scouts were collecting trash in Lake Hallie, along with a parent chaperone. Lake Hallie police said a pickup crossed a lane and veered into a roadside ditch, hitting and killing four people in the group, at about 11:40 a.m.
The driver, identified as Treu, sped away, but deputies later tracked him down. Investigators say Treu and his passenger admitted to inhaling chemical vapors before the crash, a practice known as huffing.
Lake Hallie Police named the victims as 9-year-old Jayna Kelley of Lake Hallie, 10-year-old Autumn Helgeson of Lake Hallie, and 10-year-old Haylee Hickle and her mother 32-year-old Sara Jo Schneider of the Town of Lafayette.
A fifth victim, a 10-year-old girl, was critically injured and had to have open heart surgery, according to a GoFundMe set up for her. She was released back home to her family later in November.
In a November court appearance, Chippewa County prosecutors said Treu was involved in a similar incident in Rusk County in September 2018, when he rolled a vehicle. He was arrested at that time for possession of drugs including methamphetamine, and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
Treu entered his not guilty plea via his attorneys in court on Friday.
Also in front of the judge on Friday was a request for a change of venue for the trial. The defense argued that Treu would not get a fair trial because of the "inflammatory nature of the publicity" the case has received, but the judge denied it. He suggested starting the jury pool search locally, and if there aren't enough objective jurors, they will reach out to outside county jurors.
The judge said he is looking at a trial date sometime in late January.