Boater in Cat Island crash has history of OWI; lawmaker pushes to toughen law
By WBAY
BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) - The Brown County Sheriff's Office has identified the driver of a boat that crashed into a Cat Island rock wall Saturday as 35-year-old Julian Uptegrove of De Pere.
The Sheriff's Office says Uptegrove remains hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit for treatment of injuries he suffered in the crash.
The passengers in the boat were identified as Theodore Glime, 26, Fond du Lac area; Brittini Wenzel, 26, Appleton area; and Jeffrey Vogl, 26, Hobart area.
Brown County authorities think Uptegrove was trying to beat an approaching thunderstorm. Damage to the underside of the powerboat's bow is extensive. Brown County investigators believe it's the result of mixing alcohol with speed.
Uptegrove was arrested for Operating Under the Influence and is expected to face criminal charges. He has not been formally charged.
Target 2 Investigates dug deeper and found that Uptegrove has been convicted of drunk driving on two previous occasions.
This crash and our Target 2 Investigates report into Wisconsin's drunk boating laws are pushing an assemblyman from Northeast Wisconsin to change the law.
"I think sadly it takes more incidents like what we saw over the weekend to get people to think about the destructive capability of getting behind the wheel," said Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere).
Our Target 2 Investigates report revealed 17 of 57 people cited for operating a boat while impaired in Northeast Wisconsin in the last two years also had a history of drunk driving.
Several of those people had 3rd and 4th offense OWI.
Target 2 searched records for Julian Uptegrove, the driver in the Cat Island boat crash, and found he was convicted in April of 2016 for OWI - 2nd Offense.
State law says the OWI and BUI (Boating Under the Influence) are two separate laws.
Rep. Jacque says they shouldn't be.
"And to think that we are essentially allowing, right now, people to commit a first offense OWI on five different types of vehicles without it counting as a repeat offense is just stunning when you find out about it," Jacque told Target 2 Investigates.
Rep. Jacque is looking to propose legislation that would make operating any vehicle--including motorboats or recreational vehicles (snowmobiles, ATVs)-- the same.
"The deadly capability of operating while under the influence remains the same regardless of which vehicle you're driving," Jacque says.
Jacque has tried to push similar legislation twice before, each time failing to get it before the full state legislature. During the last session, he received angry calls and emails from constituents.
"Snowmobiling and ATV riding bring a lot of money to northern counties. We have enough rules the way it is," one constituent said.
Another said, "You could find something of greater importance to find solutions for."
Rep. Jacque says it is not easy to change OWI laws in Wisconsin, but he feels it needs to be done.
"It's not that we need more laws, but we need the laws that we have to make sense, and to be enforced appropriately, and to have the affect that we hope for," Jacque tells Target 2.
Jacque says timing is key in proposing controversial legislation, and urges people to contact their representatives with feedback.
He did not have a timetable for his new OWI bill.