Was crash that killed 3 kids negligent homicide? Prosecutors cite Facebook posts, drugs, bad tires
A Wisconsin woman is now facing negligent homicide charges over a fatal accident in 2013 that took the lives of her 11-year-old daughter and two 5-year-old nieces.
Kari Jo Milberg, 34, is also charged with misdemeanor reckless driving in the Dec. 12, 2013 crash. Witnesses said her SUV had suddenly veered in a U-turn in front of an oncoming truck in Oak Grove Township instead of negotiating a curve, reports KARE.
Milberg, who was critically injured when she was ejected from the vehicle, and a young son, who was 3 at the time, survived the crash.
A criminal complaint filed Feb. 27 by Pierce County prosecutors says Milberg had been sending and receiving Facebook messages minutes before the accident. Oxycodone pills and two cellphones that had been in the SUV were found at the crash scene; a third cellphone that had been thrown from the vehicle was found months later. Tests showed oxycodone and a sedative were present at theraputic levels in Milberg’s blood when the accident occurred, the government says.
Badly worn tires that couldn’t handle moist road conditions also may have helped cause the accident, according to the complaint.
No defense attorney is listed for Milberg in online court records and calls to a telephone listing in her name got a busy signal, the Associated Press reports.
