Wisconsin man convicted of drunk driving homicide faces up to 32.5 years in prison

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Oshkosh resident Brian Sippel pled no contest to Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration While Having a Prior Intoxicated Related Conviction, a Class C Felony and Great Bodily Harm by use of a Vehicle with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration, a Class F Felony on Thursday.

Sippel faces a possible maximum sentence of 32.5 years of initial confinement. A Wisconsin judge ordered bond be revoked. A pre-sentence investigation report was also ordered.

Sippel has two prior drunk driving convictions from 2004 and 2015 and a 2016 Hit and Run conviction, according to Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney.

According to court documents obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the fatal collision occurred Saturday, January 14, 2023, in the Town of Fond du Lac.

Fond du Lac County Sheriff‘s Deputies were dispatched to the intersection of Highways 151 and 41 in Fond du Lac County for a multi vehicle crash with injuries.

According to court documents obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the first victim died on the scene and the second victim was in critical condition and was transported “by lights and siren” to a nearby hospital.

Deputies detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the defendant, who refused a field sobriety test and breathalyzer.  A sample of the defendant’s blood was taken within 3 hours which revealed an alcohol concentration of 0.167 g/100mL.

As previously reported, Wisconsin remains the only state in the nation where operating while intoxicated (OWI) is classified as a traffic violation in Wisconsin, rather than a criminal matter for a first offense.

Lawmakers have previously told the Wisconsin Law Journal bills to criminalize first offense drunk driving in Wisconsin did not advance because of the Tavern League’s heavy pay-to-play influence over lawmakers.

A Wisconsin Law Journal investigation revealed the Tavern League of Wisconsin has donated more than $685,585 to Wisconsin Republicans and $151,849 to Wisconsin Democrats over the past three decades, according to FollowTheMoney.org.