Fatal hit-and-run brings 12-year prison term
Johnson fled after striking motorcyclist while turning into driveway
TUESDAY, October 16, 2007
By Brian Huber - Waukesha Freeman

Waukesha - A town of Lisbon man who struck and killed an oncoming motorcyclist as he was turning into his driveway was sentenced Monday to serve a 12-year prison term.

Daniel Johnson, 38, also was ordered to spend the following four years on extended supervision and pay $7,587 in restitution to the family of Daniel Kelsey, 43, who was struck and killed on Highway K on June 15. After the crash, Johnson hid in a corn field near his home, police said, but Johnson turned himself in to authorities two days later. He pleaded no contest in August to a count of hit-and-run causing death.

Members of the Kelsey family, citing their faith, forgave Johnson in court Monday.

"I believe, because I believe in Scripture, we're going to face another court someday," said Jacque Kelsey, Daniel's father. "In Romans it says each man is going to have to face accounting to God. But I want you to know my wife and I hold no ill will toward you. I can't speak for my family, but my wife and I totally forgive you."

Keri Kelsey, Daniel's widow, said she was left to raise their 12-year-old daughter alone, and she wanted Johnson to know how many lives he changed that night.

"My only hope is you are sick and tired of the choices you've made in life and want to walk a different path," she said. "I want you (to) know I forgive you."

Assistant District Attorney Pablo Galaviz asked for the maximum term of 15 years in jail and "not a day less," saying Johnson, despite four prior drunken-driving offenses, went drinking after working a long day on little sleep, consuming three to 10 beers before driving home.

A criminal complaint in the case said Johnson told investigators he awoke early Friday to go to his construction job in Beloit, and then stopped at an Eagle tavern after work with co-workers. There, he drank about three beers, then fell asleep in his car until about 9:15pm, the complaint said.

As he turned into his driveway, Johnson said he knew he had hit something but did not know what, the complaint said. It added he was afraid because he'd been drinking and had four prior drunken-driving convictions, the complaint said.

Galaviz said he didn't believe that Johnson did not know what he'd hit. Photos taken at the scene show his truck, Kelsey's motorcycle and Kelsey's body lying near Johnson's driveway.

Defense attorney Bridget Boyle said her client had been enduring sleepless nights, or nightmares when he could sleep, as well as inner grief and remorse for his actions.

"The mere fact this family forgives him means more to Mr. Johnson than if he were to walk out of the courtroom today," she said. "It's unbelievable to think a parent, a brother or a wife can walk into a courtroom and give forgiveness to a person who basically took the life of their son."

Defense attorney Gerald Boyle said Johnson's alcoholism was a sickness that made a decent man do an indecent thing, and it cost him his fiance and relationship with her child and he is spending the "rest of his days in a living hell."

Johnson, in a letter read by Bridgette Boyle, apologized to the Kelsey family and thanked them for their kindness toward his family, saying his actions were inexcusable.

Circuit Court Judge Ralph Ramirez said he, too, did not believe Johnson did not know what he struck, and chided Johnson for shirking his obligation to remain at the scene and to not drink and drive in the first place. However, he left open the possibility that Johnson will serve only nine years in prison and the remaining time on extended supervision, adding that Johnson is not to drive a car at all for the next 16 years as part of his sentence.

Man gets 12 years in prison
Judge sentences him in hit-and-run that killed Hubertus motorcyclist
TUESDAY, October 16, 2007
By David Doege - Journal Sentinel

Waukesha - A four-time drunken driver who killed a motorcyclist in a hit-and-run in Lisbon after downing 10 beers was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison.

Daniel Johnson left his pickup truck and the victim in the road where the collision occurred. He then ran to a nearby wooded area, where he spent the night before contacting a lawyer the next day. He told authorities he didn't know what he hit, but the prosecutor and judge said they didn't believe him.

"I'm positive he knew he hit someone on a motorcycle," Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Pablo Galaviz said after handing a photo of the crash scene to Circuit Judge Ralph Ramirez.

"It's not quite but almost arm's length from the front of your truck," Ramirez said of the motorcycle while viewing the photo. "We have the body not much farther."

In handing down the prison sentence, which will be followed by four years of extended supervision, Ramirez said the maximum possible term, which was recommended by Galaviz, was not appropriate because Johnson cooperated after he surrendered to police and entered a plea of no contest. The maximum possible term is 15 years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision.

Relatives of the victim, Daniel Kelsey, opposed a lengthy term.

"I don't think a long term would accomplish much other than taking another Daniel away from his family," said Jacque Kelsey, the victim's father.

Crash occurred in June

Daniel Kelsey, 42, of Hubertus died at the scene on Highway K near Highway MD on June 15. Kelsey, who was married and had a daughter, died of multiple injuries, the Waukesha County medical examiner's office reported.

Johnson, who was driving the truck east on Highway K, turned in front of the westbound motorcyclist, a criminal complaint says. Johnson, accompanied by defense attorney Gerald Boyle, surrendered to police two days later.

Johnson, who has been in county jail since he surrendered, worked as an operation engineer for Mann Brothers Construction in Beloit on the day of the crash, court records show.

According to the complaint, Johnson told authorities after his surrender that he had worked 10 hours on the day of the crash before driving to Knucklehead Pub in the Village of Eagle. He was tired after leaving the bar, so he slept in his truck until about 9:15 p.m. and then drove home.

Collision near driveway

The truck struck Kelsey when Johnson turned to drive into his driveway, Boyle has said.

Johnson told investigators that he drank three beers at the bar, but he told the author of a presentence report that he actually had 10. The presentence report advocated a prison term of four to five years.

Johnson was suicidal and hysterical in the hours before he turned himself in, according to Boyle.

"When I talk to him, it is so sad," Boyle told Ramirez. "It is difficult to have a conversation with him because he is just beside himself about what he did."

In a letter read by his other attorney, Bridget Boyle, Johnson said he was ashamed of his actions.

"What I've caused is inexcusable," he wrote. "I'm truly sorry for the pain that I caused."

Lisbon man in hit-and-run death pleads no contest
TUESDAY, August 14, 2007
By David Doege

Waukesha - A Lisbon man pleaded no contest Monday to leaving the scene of a fatal crash involving a motorcyclist in June.

Daniel S. Johnson, 38, faces a prison term of up to 15 years when he is sentenced Oct. 15 by Waukesha County Circuit Judge Ralph Ramirez. (The term is 25 years if you include the extended supervision. It is a total of 25 years only if he serves the maximum period of confinement, which is 15 years, and subsequently has 10 years of extended supervision revoked and is ordered to serve the full 10 years behind bars. The state’s sentencing structure is very misleading.)

Daniel J. Kelsey, 42, of Hubertus was pronounced dead at the scene on Highway K near Highway MD in Lisbon on June 15. Kelsey, who was wearing a helmet, died of multiple injuries, the Waukesha County medical examiner's office reported.

Johnson, who was driving a pickup truck east on Highway K, turned in front of the westbound motorcyclist, according to the criminal complaint. Defense attorney Gerald Boyle said in court Monday that Johnson was attempting to turn into a driveway leading to his property when the collision occurred.

Johnson ran off, the complaint says, and when police arrived at his home, his fiancée told authorities he wasn't there. She allowed officers to search the home, the complaint says.

Police discovered damage to the front and side panels of Johnson's truck. Both air bags were deployed, according to information contained in a search warrant.

Johnson, accompanied by Boyle, surrendered to police two days later. Johnson said he ran into a nearby field and was running in circles until he fell asleep, the complaint says.

Johnson is an operation engineer for Mann Brothers Construction in Beloit. He worked for 10 hours on the day of the crash, and then drove to Knucklehead Pub in the Village of Eagle, where he had three beers, the complaint says. He was tired after leaving the bar, so he slept in his truck until about 9:15 p.m. and then he drove home.

"I didn't know what I hit," he told Ramirez Monday.

Johnson has been held in the County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail since he was charged in June.

Suspect sought in fatal hit-and-run crash
SATURDAY, June 16, 2007, 10:00 a.m.
By Annysa Johnson

A 42-year-old Hubertus man was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Waukesha County late Friday, the Lisbon Police Department said today.

Authorities are searching for a 38-year-old suspect who lives near the crash site and fled on foot, Lisbon Police Chief Terry Martorano said this morning.

According to police, the suspect was driving a pickup truck eastbound on Highway K near Highway MD when he turned in front of the westbound motorcyclist.

An autopsy is planned for today. Police are not releasing the victim's name pending notification of family.

Victim in Lisbon hit-and-run identified
MONDAY, June 18, 2007, 9:26 a.m.
By Jacqueline Seibel

The man killed when his motorcycle was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Lisbon has been identified as Daniel J. Kelsey, according to the Waukesha County Medical Examiner's office.

Kelsey, 42, of Hubertus, died of multiple injuries, according to autopsy results.

A man driving a pickup truck east on Highway K near Highway MD reportedly turned in front of the westbound motorcyclist.

Authorities are searching for a 38-year-old suspect who lives near the crash site and fled on foot, Lisbon Police Chief Terry Martorano said.

Hit-and-run suspect turns himself in
MONDAY, June 18, 2007, 11:32 a.m.
By Jacqueline Seibel

The man suspected of driving the vehicle that hit and killed a man on a motorcycle then fleeing the scene turned himself in to police Sunday, Lisbon Police Chief Terry Martorano said today.

The Lisbon man, 38, is expected to be charged later today with two felonies of homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle and failure to render aid and two misdemeanors of failure to notify police of an accident and failure to yield the right-of-way, Martorano said.

Daniel J. Kelsey, 42, of Hubertus was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a hit-and-run driver late Friday.

He died of multiple injuries, according to the Waukesha County medical examiner's office. The suspect was driving a pickup truck east on Highway K near Highway MD and reportedly turned in front of the westbound motorcyclist. Kelsey was wearing a helmet.

Police found the pickup in the driveway and the man's girlfriend allowed police to search the house for the man. The man later told police that he fled into nearby fields because he was fearful of what would happen since he had been arrested in the past, the chief said.

Driver told authorities he ran because had been drinking, criminal complaint says

Waukesha - The suspect in a fatal hit-and-run motorcycle crash in Lisbon told police that he panicked because he had been drinking, a criminal complaint says.

Daniel S. Johnson, 38, of Lisbon was charged Monday with felony hit-and-run involving death. If convicted, he would face up to 25 years in prison. Johnson has four drunken driving convictions, the complaint says.

Daniel J. Kelsey, 42, of Hubertus was pronounced dead at the scene in Lisbon late Friday. Kelsey, who was wearing a helmet, died of multiple injuries, the Waukesha County medical examiner's office reported.

Johnson was driving a pickup truck east on Highway K near Highway MD, and he turned in front of the westbound motorcyclist, the complaint says.

Johnson was turning into his driveway and fled on foot, the complaint says. When police arrived at the home, his fiancée told authorities he wasn't there. She allowed officers to search the home, the complaint says.

Police discovered damage to the front and side panels of Johnson's truck. Both air bags were deployed, and Johnson's cell phone was inside, according to information contained in a search warrant.

Johnson, accompanied by attorney Gerald Boyle, surrendered to police Sunday. Johnson said he ran into a nearby field and was running in circles until he fell asleep, the complaint says.

Johnson is an operation engineer for Mann Brothers Construction in Beloit. He worked for 10 hours on the day of the crash, then drove to Knucklehead Pub in the Village of Eagle, where he had three beers, the complaint says. He was tired after leaving the bar, so he slept in his truck until about 9:15 p.m. and then he drove home. He said he knew he struck something but didn't know what it was, the complaint says.