Waukesha hit-and-run; woman pleads no contest, sentenced to prison

Woman charged in Waukesha hit-and-run

A 57-year-old Waukesha woman is accused of operating while intoxicated and causing a crash that critically injured a man.

MILWAUKEE - A Waukesha woman accused of operating while intoxicated and causing a crash that critically injured a man pleaded no contest and was sentenced to prison on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

57-year-old Tara Felten pleaded no contest to two felonies: OWI causing injury and hit-and-run causing injury.

A third count, injury by use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC) with a passenger under the age of 16, was dismissed on the prosecutor's motion.

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Tara Felten

Felten was sentenced to two years in prison with three years of extended supervision, concurrent with a nine-month jail sentence.

She was fined and must also complete 50 hours of community service.

Original reporting (December 2024)

The backstory:

It happened around 6:15 p.m. near Hartwell and White Rock.

Prosecutors say the victim, a 63-year-old man, suffered a brain bleed, aortic injury, a broken leg and more. Investigators say the woman who hit him took off.

When Helen Bishara looked out her front window Saturday night, there was a heartbreaking sight. Just after 6 p.m., she watched as first responders helped a man who had just been hit by a car.

"There was no screeching, no honking," Bishara said. "There was no car. It was just a guy laying in the road. I have no idea if he was crossing or anything. I just know that they were treating him in the street there."

Police arrested Felten after tracking her vehicle with flock cameras. Investigators say someone called 911 to report a driver swerving through lanes of traffic near Moreland and Main Street, almost hitting a pole.

Police say when they told her she was being investigated for hit-and-run while intoxicated, Felten asked, "A person?  A vehicle? A squirrel?"

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Prosecutors say Felten has two prior OWIs.

"There were a lot of alcohol cans all up and down the street in this area," Bishara said.  "Instantly, my husband suspected a drunk driver."