Judge finds Wisconsin Rapids man guilty in Stevens Point hit-and-run that killed 63-year-old man who was taking a walk

STEVENS POINT − A 43-year-old Wisconsin Rapids man pleaded no contest Friday to a hit-and run crash that killed a 63-year-old Stevens Point man who was taking a walk.

Kenneth L. Butler entered the plea to the charges of hit-and-run involving death and homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle in the death of Herbert Wievel, 63, of Stevens Point.

A no-contest plea means Butler isn't admitting he is guilty, but is admitting there is enough evidence in the case to convict him.

Retired Marathon County Circuit Judge Gregory Grau found Butler guilty of the charges. Grau also ordered a pre-sentence investigation at the request of the attorneys.

According to the criminal complaint, at 4:55 p.m. March 5, a caller reported an unresponsive man lying in the ditch near West River Drive and Portage County HH. The Stevens Point Police and Fire departments responded to the call. A helicopter took Wievel to Aspirus Wausau Hospital. He lived a mile from where he was found.

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Two days later, on March 7, Wievel's nephew texted a detective and said Wievel had been pronounced dead at 8:18 p.m.

The speed limit where Wievel was hit by a vehicle was 25 mph, according to the complaint. Officers found two hats, a pair of sunglasses and small plastic car parts around the area where Wievel was found. No skid marks were on the road and no tire tracks were going off the road at the location of the incident. No call had been made reporting the crash to authorities.

On March 6, a Stevens Point detective learned a Safelite employee working out of Wisconsin Rapids had hit an unknown object the afternoon of March 5 in Stevens Point. The detective called the store manager, who said one of his technicians had returned to the shop March 5, during the work day, and said he hit something. The manager said the passenger-side headlight was damaged, there was damage to the hood, and the windshield was "busted," according to the complaint. The manager said the technician, Butler, was in Stevens Point and Plover March 5.

At 7:57 p.m. March 6, a Wisconsin Rapids sergeant was on a traffic stop on State 34 and saw a Safelite van with a burned-out passenger-side headlight. The detective, who had earlier talked to the sergeant about the vehicle he was looking for, and a detective-sergeant went to intercept the vehicle as it turned west on West Grand Avenue from State 34, according to the complaint.

The vehicle turned north on 14th Avenue North and then turned into a driveway in the 200 block of 14th Avenue in Wisconsin Rapids, according to the complaint. The two officers parked a few houses away on the road. A few minutes later, a Wisconsin Rapids officer pulled behind the vehicle on the road.

The officers identified the driver of the vehicle as Butler, and learned the vehicle was a van owned by Safelite from Wisconsin Rapids. The detective asked Butler what had caused the damage to the van. Butler said, "I hit a turkey, I believe," according to the complaint.

The officers asked Butler what the road looked like in the area where the crash happened, and Butler said there was a lake or a river on the left side and there were woods on the right side. The timing and the described location matched with where Wievel was hit, according to the complaint.

Butler said he had left a job at a school, but he was not sure what school. The detective asked what Bugler was doing When he hit the turkey, and Butler said he was looking down at a map on his phone, according to the complaint. Butler said he did not see what hit the windshield, but he pulled over to the side and got out to look right away. He said he used his phone to navigate his way from the area and didn't know where he went.

Butler said he had gone to the Safelite office on Sweat Avenue in Wisconsin Rapids for about an hour the morning of March 5 and then went to his first job, which was at a school. Butler said he went straight back to the office after striking the object on the road. Butler again said he looked at his map, then "boom," he hit something. He said he stopped and looked around, but didn't see anything, so he got back in the van and drove back to the shop.

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When asked about the hair in the windshield, Butler said they were trying to figure out what that was at the shop and thought it might be wolf or coyote hair, according to the complaint. Butler said he had been going 45 or 50 mph and didn't know what the speed limit was in the area.

Using traffic cameras, officers were able to see Butler's Safelite van in Stevens Point on West Clark and Water streets at 12:55 p.m. March 5 with no damage. They saw the van at Post and Porter roads with damage at 2:09 p.m. that day.

Since Wievel's death, his neighbors have joined together to ask city officials to make changes to improve the safety on West River Drive in Stevens Point. The neighbors say Wievel frequently walked on West River Drive.

Butler's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and 15 years extended supervision.

Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Wisconsin Rapids man found guilty in fatal Stevens Point hit-and-run