Wisconsin Man, 76, Gets Probation, Pays $1.2 Million for Hit and Run
By Jim Greene
Published on July 02, 2010
A 76-year-old Wisconsin man who pleaded no contest to striking a man with his car and then driving away will serve 150 days of house arrest and three years' probation, and pay the victim's family $1.2 million. The victim, who died nearly a year later of complications of injuries received in the auto accident, had stopped to help a woman push her truck out of a snow bank.
Eugene Finley, a retired teacher who lives in Waunakee, struck David Wilhelm, 55, during a snowstorm on Dec. 22, 2008, while driving in Cottage Grove. Finley said he was unaware at the time that he had struck Wilhelm, but found out later. He turned himself in a few days later, on the advice of a friend who is an attorney.
Mirror Found At Accident Scene Provides Clue
Police found an outside rearview mirror from a Buick LeSabre at the accident scene. After he turned himself in, Finley's Buick LeSabre was found to be missing a mirror, as well as having damage to the body.
To meet the obligation of his civil settlement, Finley sold his home and turned over $100,000 and the proceeds of an insurance payment.
Wilhelm's daughter, Amanda Pryz, said the brain injury her father received in the accident turned him from an active man who enjoyed the outdoors to a man who required 24-hour care. He was placed in a Sheboygan care facility in October and died Dec. 1 from pneumonia associated with his brain injury.
Victim's Daughter Says Surrender Was "Extremely Brave"
Pryz said that Finley's action in turning himself in was "extremely brave thing," since he might never have been caught had he not done so.
Finley's son Daniel said his father suffered a stroke in 1997, has been in and out of nursing homes, and takes up to 20 medications a day.
If you or someone you know has been injured or lost a loved one in a traffic accident, contact an experienced personal injury attorney. Like the Wilhelm family, you may be facing devastating medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. Your attorney will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
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