Man pleads no contest to 1 of 16 felony charges in 5-vehicle fatal crash on I-94 in Delafield

Frank Schiller



WAUKESHA COUNTY -- A man accused in connection with a crash that killed a good Samaritan who was assisting the occupants of a minivan who were dealing with a flat tire on I-94 in Delafield in July of 2017 has reached a plea deal in the case against him.

Prosecutors said at the time of the crash, he was out on bail, and had a pending case in which he was accused of his fifth/sixth OWI offense.

Frank Schiller, 38, on Wednesday, Feb. 20 pleaded no contest to one count of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, second-plus offense. He'll be sentenced on April 5.

Of the 16 charges Schiller faced, nine were dismissed but read into the court record during Schiller's plea hearing. Six were dismissed by the prosecutor.

Peter Enns, who was from Canada, was killed and three others were hurt in the crash that happened on I-94 eastbound, just west of Cushing Park Road in Delafield on July 8, 2017.

Scene of Delafield fatal crash



Scene of Delafield fatal crash



Frank Schiller



According to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, shortly after 9 p.m. on that July night, a passing motorist pulled over to assist the occupants of a minivan that was pulled over on the shoulder of I-94 EB with a flat tire. While the tire was being changed, a vehicle headed eastbound on I-94 struck the minivan and Enns, who was assisting the occupants of the minivan.

The criminal complaint against Schiller said witnesses believed Schiller was driving between 75 and 80 miles per hour in the shoulder of the freeway when the collision happened. Due to the crash involving Schiller's vehicle and the minivan, two other vehicles had to swerve to avoid the incident, and they crashed. The minivan ended up in a ditch 30 yards away with four children inside. Enns was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Peter Enns



In all, five vehicles were involved in this incident. I-94 EB was closed for six hours, and I-94 WB was closed for two while this crash was investigated and crews worked the scene.

According to the criminal complaint, Schiller's mother called police prior to the Delafield incident "to report her 'druggie' son got into a verbal altercation with her and his father." But he apparently left the scene prior to law enforcement arriving. The mother believed Schiller "was high and would try to evade officers." When asked why they thought Schiller was high, the father "indicated the defendant was walking kind of funny and looked 'a little bit tipsy.'"

When questioned by law enforcement at a hospital, the complaint said Schiller "stated that he did not remember the incident" in Delafield. A deputy "could smell the odor of intoxicants" coming from Schiller during that interview. The deputy also noted Schiller's "speech was mumbled and at times he was somewhat incoherent." Based on this information, Schiller was placed under arrest at the hospital.

Cash bond was set at $1 million shortly after his arrest.

At the time of his arrest, Schiller had four open court cases, filed between March and June of 2017.

In June of 2017, he faced drug charges in separate cases, which have since been dismissed.

In April of 2017, he faced felony bail jumping and drug charges. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cocaine in November of 2017, and was sentenced to serve nine months in jail with Huber release.

In March of 2017, he was charged with OWI, fifth or sixth offense, and pleaded guilty in September of 2017. In November of 2017, he was sentenced to serve four years in prison and four years extended supervision. Additionally, his license was revoked for 36 months and he was required to use an ignition interlock device for 36 months.