Fatal crash into Kenosha building; accused driver reaches plea deal

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KENOSHA, Wis. - A Pleasant Prairie man accused in connection with a fatal Kenosha crash that happened in July 2023 reached a plea deal in his case on Monday, May 5. 

Ajay Pierangeli entered on Monday a guilty plea to two charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.  Two other charges of OWI causing injury were dismissed and read into the court record for the purposes of sentencing. 

Pierangeli is set to be sentenced on July 11.

Kenosha truck crash

What we know:

Kenosha police responded to an accident with injuries at Play It Again Sports on 75th Street around 3:30 a.m. on July 28, 2023. Dispatchers indicated it was a severe car crash, a criminal complaint states, and another caller indicated it was a truck-versus-building crash. 

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When officers arrived at the scene, they spotted a pickup truck partially inside the storefront. Four people inside the truck were unconscious, and a fifth person in the front seat was alert, conscious and breathing. Due to the vehicle's heavy damage, the complaint states officers were not able to open the doors on the driver's side.

Kenosha firefighters removed rear seat passengers Dylan Zamora and Jenna Barrette, from the truck. They both died on the scene. The driver, Pierangeli, was removed and taken to a hospital. The fourth passenger was also hospitalized.

Officers spoke with that fourth passenger who said he and his friends were at a "hangout" and indicated "everyone was drinking, and they had stopped about an hour ago," per the complaint. The passenger also told police he was not wearing a safety belt and did not believe anyone else in the truck was either. The passenger said, roughly 20 minutes into the drive, Pierangeli was driving eastbound on 75th Street and "lost control of the truck and crashed," the complaint said – but "was not traveling at a high rate of speed." When the officer asked the passenger how the truck crashed into the building, the complaint said he told them he "did not know they crashed into a building."

A witness, who happened to be an employee of an ambulance company, told police the truck sped off from an intersection and "began partially swerving into their lane," per the complaint. The witness estimated the truck was "traveling at 70 miles per hour and the ambulance was traveling at approximately 40 to 45 miles per hour and the pickup was pulling away." The witness also told police "he recalls the vehicle swerving very hard from the right lane into the left lane, then the front end of the vehicle jumped into the air as the rear end then followed the front going into the air."

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A second ambulance employee provided a similar statement about the actions of the person driving the pickup truck.

The complaint said a legal blood sample was withdrawn from the defendant. Doctors informed investigators Pierangeli's blood alcohol concentration was .282 – or more than three times the legal limit. He also suffered a ruptured lung and skull fracture in the wreck, the complaint said.

Court records indicate a warrant was issued for Pierangeli's arrest. However, police told FOX6 News on Aug. 17, 2023 that he was under police guard in a hospital.