Driver Who Killed Three Girl Scouts Was Huffing Chemicals Before Crash
By Bill Galluccio
November 5, 2018
The driver who struck a group of Girl Scouts with his truck told police that he and his passenger had inhaled chemicals prior to the fatal crash. Three girls and one adult were killed and a fourth girl was injured when 21-year-old Colten Treu hit them with his truck as the girls helped pick up trash along a section of a rural highway in Wisconsin.
Police identified the four victims as nine-year-old Jayna Kelley, ten-year-old Autumn Helgeson, ten-year-old Haylee Hickle, and her 32-year-old mother Sara Jo Schneider. The girl who was injured remains in the hospital and is listed in critical condition.
Treu initially fled the scene of the crash and police found his Ford F-150 truck abandoned not far from the accident. He eventually surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody.
Treu is being held at the Chippewa County Jail and faces four counts of homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle, five counts of hit and run and four counts of homicide while intoxicated.
Treu was convicted of drunk driving in 2014, and in September was involved in a crash in which his truck rolled over while he was intoxicated.