Homicide by OWI, drug charges filed in fatal crash

Homicide by operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated charges and drug charges were filed Sept. 27 against a former Lakewood man accused in the death of a Lake Tomahawk woman in a head-on crash Sept. 8.

Bond was set at $250,000 cash for Zackery Dale Wimber, 30, Fond du Lac, after he was charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle, two counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and causing injury (second or subsequent offense), possession with intent to deliver cocaine, possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony, and driving or operating a vehicle without consent, as well as misdemeanor counts of driving while revoked and causing death and violating an ignition interlock device order.

Wimber is charged in connection with the crash that claimed the life of Lisa Marie Neitzel, 52, of Lake Tomahawk. Oconto County Circuit Judge Jay Conley adjourned Wimber’s initial appearance until Oct. 17.

The crash occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on state Highway 32-64 near Sparkys Road in the Town of Mountain.

According to an Oconto County Sheriff’s Department traffic report, Wimber’s southbound vehicle “was swerving all over the southbound lane,” crossed the center line and crashed head-on into the other vehicle driven by Kaley Violet Neitzel, 15, killing her mother instantly and seriously injuring Kaley and Ronald Neitzel, 54.

Wimber and the two surviving Neitzels were all transported to hospitals with what the report describes as suspected serious injuries; Ronald Neitzel had to be extricated using the Jaws of Life and was airlifted from the scene.

The criminal complaint indicates that the Neitzel family was traveling home after attending a wedding in Shawano. Kaley Neitzel, who holds a valid learner’s permit and had completed five of six driving lessons, was driving with her father in the passenger seat and mother in the back seat.

A witness told deputies that Wimber had been tailgating him and swerving on the road behind him, then passed at a high rate of speed. Moments later, the witness saw a puff of smoke and came upon the crash scene.

Multiple witnesses saw Wimber leave his vehicle and drop something in the woods or ditch before coming back, despite significant injuries, the complaint said. One witness, an ICU nurse, said Wimber’s eyes were dilated and he made a comment about being afraid of being caught with items that had been inside his vehicle.

Oconto County K-9 officer Emma was deployed into the woods to search for any contraband and alerted on a partially opened black box, the complaint said. Inside the box, deputies found seven clear plastic bags of a white powder that tested positive for cocaine, as well as two plastic bags with a substance that tested positive for heroin, the complaint said. The box also contained a semiautomatic 9mm pistol.

Wimber admitted to an investigator that he had consumed heroin and cocaine earlier in the day, according to the complaint.

The next day, a friend of Wimber’s reported that his SUV had been stolen after he left it at Wimber’s overnight because he had been intoxicated. The friend said he did not give Wimber permission to drive the vehicle Sept. 8.

Wimber has an extensive criminal history according to online court records and was currently on probation after being convicted in 2021 of possession of methamphetamine, possession of narcotic drugs, and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony. A Fond du Lac County judge had imposed and stayed a 7½ year prison sentence, then placed Wimber on five years of probation with conditions including that he not possess or use controlled substances without a prescription.

wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com