WI Woman, 20, Said She Hit A Deer. A Man Was Dead On The Road: Charges

ST. CROIX COUNTY, WI — A 20-year-old New Richmond woman is charged with killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run crash early Sunday in Hudson Township, then telling authorities she thought she had hit a deer, according to a criminal complaint.

Angelica Marisela Ann Altena was charged Monday in St. Croix County Circuit Court with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and hit-and-run resulting in death. Both are Class D felonies, each punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The man who was killed has not been publicly identified. In a news release Monday, the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office said deputies had been unable to identify him.

According to the complaint, an off-duty Polk County deputy driving to work found the man lying in the eastbound lane of County Road N around 4:13 a.m. Sunday, with vehicle debris nearby. The deputy called 911 and began CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The deputy later told investigators he saw the man walking in the same area every day on his way to work, between about 4 and 4:15 a.m. He said the man always wore a high-visibility reflective vest, carried a flashlight that was turned on and waved at him. The deputy did not know the man's name or where he was from.

Investigators described the man as white, appearing to be in his 60s, with short grayish-white hair. He was wearing jeans, a gray sweatshirt, a red flannel jacket and a reflective vest, and had no identification on him. A dark gray "New Orleans French Quarter" baseball cap was found near the scene. A Washington County deputy fingerprinted the man, but the prints returned no results, the complaint states.

Among the debris in the road were a windshield wiper and a Wisconsin license plate, which deputies traced to a 2022 white Toyota Camry registered to Altena in New Richmond. New Richmond officers found the Camry in the driveway with significant damage to the windshield and front end.

When a deputy arrived at the home around 5 a.m., Altena's mother answered the door and said her daughter had hit a deer on her way home, according to the complaint. Altena told the deputy she thought she hit a deer and did not stop.

The deputy reported a strong odor of intoxicants, bloodshot eyes and slow, slurred speech. Altena showed multiple signs of impairment on field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test measured her blood alcohol content at 0.089, the complaint states.

She was arrested and agreed to have her blood drawn at a hospital.

After being read her rights, Altena told the deputy she had three to four drinks at a pub in Dinkytown, Minneapolis, according to the complaint.

She said she and her friends left the bar around 2 a.m., and friends dropped her off at her car, which was parked at a friend's house in Hudson. She said she then drove home alone using Google Maps for directions, and that she struck what she thought was a deer after turning right at a stop sign and kept driving.

If convicted of the homicide charge, Altena faces a mandatory minimum of five years of initial confinement in prison unless the court finds a compelling reason to impose less.

Each charge also carries a five-year revocation of her driving privileges.

The sheriff's office said the crash is the fourth traffic fatality recorded in St. Croix County this year. The crash remains under investigation.