Scott Farmer appears before Waupaca County court via Zoom, January 23, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – With the family of four siblings killed in a traffic accident out of the country for burials, the preliminary hearing for the suspect in the drunk driving crash won’t be held for another month.
Scott Farmer, 47, has been charged with six counts, including four of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, in connection with the Dec. 16 crash which killed Daniel, Fabian, Lilian and Daniela Gonzalez.
Farmer made his first court appearance with an attorney Tuesday. He’s in jail, unable to post the $750,000 cash bond.
Normally, preliminary hearings are held within 10 days for suspects in custody, but District Attorney Kat Turner asked if could wait until after Feb. 18, when the family will return from Ecuador. Farmer’s attorney agreed, and the hearing is set for Feb. 23.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a report of a wrong-way driver on Highway 10, near County X, in Weyauwega. The crash happened at about 9:15 p.m. on Dec. 16.
Farmer’s truck was travelling westbound in the eastbound lane, and crashed into the other vehicle. Three people in the crash died at the scene, a fourth victim died later at the hospital.
A medic told police there was a large bottle of vodka by Farmer. While in the ambulance, Farmer was asked how much he had to drink, to which he replied, “A lot.” When asked what day it was, he responded Feb. 12. When asked how fast he was driving, he replied “(Expletive) 75.”
If convicted, it would be Farmer’s fifth OWI conviction after previous offenses of Oct. 6, 1999, Sept. 18, 2001, Nov. 29, 2006 and Dec. 18, 2019. His driver’s license was revoked at the time of the crash.
Also, because of the previous convictions, his legal limit for driving would be .02, instead of .08. The criminal complaint does not cite a breath test, but said a blood draw would performed.
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