MIDDLE INLET, WI-- A Wisconsin man has been charged in connection with a Marinette County accident that killed an Ishpeming boy.
Timothy Christ, 28, is accused of pulling out of a Middle Inlet bar parking lot Friday around 11:30 p.m. and driving his pickup truck—without its lights on—north in the southbound lane. He struck a car driven by Jodi Betts Croley, 44, of Ishpeming. Her son, Christopher Croley, 13, was killed in the crash. Jodi Croley and her 17- and 16-year-old daughters remain hospitalized with serious injuries at a Green Bay hospital.
A blood test indicates Christ’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was .262 percent, more than three times the legal limit of .08 percent in Wisconsin.
Christ faces eight counts. Two include homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with a prior drunk driving conviction and homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with an illegal alcohol concentration while having a prior drunk driving conviction. The remaining six charges include operating while intoxicated, causing injury – second offense.
The first two charges are each punishable by up to 40 years in prison. The others are punishable by up to six years in prison each.
Christ remains lodged in the Marinette County Jail on a $200,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is set for November 1.
