Amandria Brunner to stand trial after Noah Snyder and Scott Michaud, Marquette lacrosse players, killed in car crash
A 41-year-old Wisconsin woman was allegedly intoxicated when she collided with a vehicle carrying multiple Marquette University lacrosse players, two of whom died in the crash , according to a complaint filed on Sept 10.
Amandria Brunner, of West Allis, will stand trial after being charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle while having a prior intoxicant-related conviction.
Brunner pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday, weeks after the Sept. 5 crash, which killed Marquette student-athletes Noah Snyder and Scott Michaud.
Authorities say Brunner was intoxicated, but the car the lacrosse players were in was speeding excessively.
The incident occurred late that Friday afternoon at an intersection near the school's campus in Milwaukee. Snyder and Michaud were passengers in a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee carrying several members of the lacrosse team, one of whom told police they were on their way to a thrift store, according to the complaint.
Milwaukee Police Crash Reconstructionist William Hanney recalled the scene at 27th and St. Paul during Thursday's preliminary hearing.
"A southbound Jeep colliding with a northbound pickup truck driven by Ms. Brunner, while it was making a left hand turn at the intersection," Hanney said.
Hanney says Brunner was heading north in a white Ford Ranger, turning left behind another car in the yellow light.
"It was at 100% throttle for I believe 2 seconds before the crash in what one could allude as an attempt to beat the yellow light," Hanney said.
Video recovered from the scene showed the Ford Ranger accelerating into the intersection while the traffic light was yellow, "whereupon it collides with the gray SUV as it is entering the intersection at a high rate of speed," the complaint stated. The Jeep was traveling 53 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to the complaint.
Snyder and Michaud, who were both in the rear seat of the Jeep, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the complaint. They died from multiple blunt-force injuries, it said.
"They were extricated from the Jeep and pronounced deceased on the scene," Hanney said in court.
The driver of the Jeep consented to a blood draw, an analysis of which is still pending, according to the complaint.
Brunner was assisted out of her vehicle by a bystander who told police she "smelled alcohol on the defendant's person," the complaint stated. Brunner allegedly told an officer who responded to the scene that "she was turning left when another car hit her, and 'they are dead,'" the complaint stated.
Hanney says Brunner admitted to driving drunk. Prosecutors say she told them she had two cans of malt liquor before, and had a blood alcohol level of 0.133., more than the legal limit.
Brunner allegedly stated that she had two Steel Reserve drinks prior to the crash, and that there was alcohol in her vehicle, according to the complaint. The officer observed that the driver "had bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, and difficulty keeping her balance," the complaint stated. During a field sobriety test, she showed "multiple clues of impairment" and was placed under arrest, the complaint stated.
Brunner was transported to a local hospital for medical clearance, where her blood was drawn following the issuance of a search warrant, according to the complaint. Her blood alcohol content was found to be .133, according to the complaint, which noted the blood sample is undergoing further drug testing.
During a search of her Ford Ranger, an officer "observed the odor of intoxicants emanating from the vehicle" and found one open can of Miller High Life beer in the truck's cab, behind the passenger seat, the complaint stated. The officer "observed that the can was partially crushed, but the top of the beer can did not appear to be opened by crash forces," the complaint stated.
"I found a open can of Miller beer directly behind the front seat," Hanney said.
Brunner was previously convicted of operating while intoxicated in 2003, according to the complaint.
During Brunner's initial court appearance, cash bond was set at $75,000, with bond conditions including that she maintain sobriety and not drive.
Judge David Borowski bound Brunner over for trial during Thursday's hearing.
Snyder and Michaud were "strong students" who were both named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in their first years at Marquette, the university said.
Snyder, a native of Getzville, New York, was a student in the College of Business Administration. Michaud, a native of Springboro, Ohio, was a biomedical sciences major in the College of Health Sciences.
"Please keep Noah and Scott's parents, siblings and families, and the Marquette Athletics and college communities in your prayers," Marquette President Kimo Ah Yun said in a statement following the crash. "Noah and Scott's lives were taken too soon and we share in the heartbreak of their teammates, coaches and those who knew them personally."
The CNN Wire contributed to this report.
