The mother of one of the Girl Scouts killed in Wisconsin by a hit-and-run driver has spoken out for the first time since her daughter’s death.
Jayna Kelley, 9, was one of three scouts killed in a hit-and-run on Nov. 3. An adult was also killed. Colton Treu, 21, was arrested for allegedly hitting the group; police said he admitted to “huffing” chemicals before driving that day near Lake Hallie, around 90 miles east of Minneapolis.
“There was no warning. It was fast. It was from behind. No one could turn around,” mother and troop leader Robin Kelley told WCCO.
Kelley was standing near her daughter when the truck sped up and slammed into the group. Autumn Helgeson and Haylee Hickle, both 10, and Haylee’s mother, Sara Jo Schneider were identified as the other victims; a fifth person, 10-year-old Madalyn Zwiefelhofer, survived being hit and remains hospitalized.
“It’s just such a tragedy. You can’t let the anger take over, though. You want to get mad about it, and you feel guilty about it, but you can’t. It was just something that was out of our control,” said Jayna’s father, Brian Kelley.
Community Mourns Loss, Driver Charged
The group was picking trash up next to the highway when they were hit, wearing safety vests and in a ditch, not on the shoulder or pavement, the Lake Hallie Police Department said.
“This is a horrible reminder of our nation’s epidemic of self-indulging with substance abuse without regard of the consequences. Words cannot describe our Lake Hallie community’s sorrow for the witnesses, victims, and their families. This senseless crash was completely avoidable,” Cal Smokowicz, the department chief, said in a statement.
Treu, who was charged with four counts of homicide by negligent use of a vehicle, five counts of hit and run, and four counts of homicide while intoxicated, was being held at the Chippewa County Jail.
Bond Set
The Leader-Telegram reported on Monday that Treu appeared in the county court via video and a judge held him held on $250,000 cash bond.
Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said that Treu is accused of a similar incident in Rusk County on Sept. 30, when he drove into a ditch.
“Officers did a field sobriety test and noticed his impairment,” Newell told Judge James Isaacson.
Officers found meth and marijuana on that day in Treu’s car, but he wasn’t yet charged with any crime in that county.
