Elm Grove hit-and-run crash; Plymouth man faces charges
Joseph Timreck
ELM GROVE, Wis. - A 39-year-old Plymouth man is accused of driving drunk and fleeing the scene of a crash in Elm Grove in January. The accused is Joseph Timreck – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Hit-and-run injury
- Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence-4th offense
According to the criminal complaint, an Elm Grove police officer was dispatched on Sunday, Jan. 14. to a multi-vehicle crash on Pilgrim Parkway. The officer later learned two people fled the scene on foot from one of the involved vehicles -- which was identified as a blue 2007 Pontiac G6.
The other driver involved in this wreck indicated she was driving south on Pilgrim Parkway when she lost control of her vehicle. She told the officer "she went into the oncoming lane and stopped sideways in the roadway," the complaint says. As she came to a stop, she was struck on the passenger side of her vehicle. Two people in the striking vehicle fled the scene on foot.
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While searching for the striking vehicle, a Brookfield officer noted a person at a gas station who matched the description of the fleeing suspects. That officer "advised the individual's story was suspicious," the complaint says. The driver's license indicated he was Plymouth -- which was the "same city the registered owner of the Pontiac was from," the complaint says."
The Plymouth man was detained. The officer with him reported the man's clothes were covered in snow. The complaint says the man "had snow on his face, jacket, shoes, and had snow on his jeans up to his mid-thighs, as if he had just walked or ran through snow-covered yards." An officer noted the man, identified as defendant Timreck, had slow and slurred speech and "that he did not know and could not remember anything. (The officer) reports immediately detecting an odor of intoxicants emanating from the defendant and observing the defendant's eyes were bloodshot and glassy," the complaint says.
While speaking with the defendant, Timreck told the officer "he was coming from a bar with his friend, but could not remember the name of the bar," the complaint says.
The complaint says Timreck refused to perform field sobriety tests and also refused to submit to an evidentiary blood test.
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A review of online records indicated Timreck had three previous OWI convictions.
According to the criminal complaint, authorities reviewed jail phone calls from the defendant while he was being held at the Waukesha County Jail. On Jan. 15, the defendant placed a call and stated, "I know I hit someone. They pulled in front of me," the complaint says. When a person on the phone asked Timreck why he ran from the scene, the defendant stated, "because I knew I had booze in my system...I was just so scared I ran. I thought I would be able to get away and figure it out," the complaint says.
Online court records indicate Timreck failed to show for his initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Feb. 13. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.