5 years probation for Watertown woman involved in fatal Waukesha County crash
Danielle Grooms
WAUKESHA COUNTY -- Danielle Grooms, 23, of Watertown, was placed on five years of probation for her role in a fatal 2016 Waukesha County crash. As part of that order, she will serve one year in jail with credit for 74 days.
She faced charges of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and reckless driving causing great bodily harm.
According to a criminal complaint, Waukesha County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a crash on CTH NN near Jordan Trail in the Town of Eagle the night of August 5, 2016. There, authorities said a motorcyclist was struck and killed -- pronounced dead at the scene -- by a vehicle headed westbound in the eastbound lane. Another motorcyclist, an off-duty police officer, was injured.
Also at the scene, deputies spoke with the driver of a Mitsubishi sedan. The driver told deputies that another attempted to pass her when that driver hit the motorcyclist. Deputies found that vehicle, a Pontiac sedan and the driver -- identified as Grooms -- approximately 500 feet from the main scene of the crash. The complaint states that the vehicle had extensive front-end damage.
The section of road where the crash happened is a no-passing zone in both directions with no shoulders, one lane of traffic in each direction and a hill just east of the scene, the complaint states. Grooms later told deputies that she did attempt to pass another driver and did not know how fast she was going.
The off-duty officer involved in the crash told deputies that the victim had no time to react and nowhere to go because of the timing and location of the crash.