RACINE, Wis. — A 21-year-old man is facing charges after prosecutors say he was drunk when he slammed into a nursing student who was on her way to work.
An Apple Watch helped first responders to the scene, but the 21-year-old victim was pronounced dead.
Johanna Renee Pascoe of Racine was allegedly killed by the driver on Highway 32 in Caledonia Monday morning.
Ernesto R. Regalado Rodriguez was charged with Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle, Knowingly Operating without a Valid License - Causing Death and 1st-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety. Cash bond was set at $500,000. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21, online court records show.
According to a criminal complaint released Friday, dispatchers received an alert from an Apple Watch reporting a crash and that the driver was not responding.
At the scene, officers found two vehicles, one with extensive damage to the driver's side and the other vehicle resting on top of a guard rail. They found the victim, Pascoe, unconscious. She was brought to the hospital, where she died.
Rodriguez was at the scene. He failed a breathalyzer test and officers say they found four empty beer bottles in his car. There was a language barrier between him and the officers.
An investigation found he was driving southbound on Highway 32 when he lost control, crossed the center line and crashed into the victim's car.
During a police interview, Rodriguez said he did not remember the crash but believed he was OK to be driving. He said he had consumed three 16 oz beers.
20-year-old nursing student killed by drunk driver on her way to work
The day before 20-year-old Johanna Renee Pascoe of Racine was killed, she made ornaments with her nephews and spent time with her two sisters.
Just this past Friday, she dedicated her graduation speech to her sisters. They attended her nurse pinning ceremony at Gateway Technical College, where she worked her way through school and was on the Dean’s List.
They never imagined that within three days, Johanna’s life would be cut tragically short.
“I was at work Monday morning,” said Elisha Pascoe, Johanna’s oldest sister. “I was on a break telling my coworkers about Johanna’s graduation ceremony, and I kept getting these random phone calls that I thought were spam, but when I listened to the voicemail, it was Caledonia Police.”
Police told Elisha that Johanna had been in a bad car crash, was extricated from her car, and airlifted to Froedtert. Doctors did everything they could, but they told Johanna’s family that she had died on impact, could not breathe on her own, and was brain dead.
“We were in shock,” said Elisha. “We just held her and rubbed her arms. Deep down we were really hoping that she’d just wake up, even though the doctors told us she was gone.”
They can’t help but be angry but are trying to focus on planning a beautiful memorial service to honor Johanna’s life.
“She had the brightest future,” said Elisha. “She was filled with a passion for life. She had a zest for learning and taking care of people. She had the kindest heart and everybody who knew her or met her could see how bright her light was. There’s no reason for anyone to drink and drive. It is such a senseless, selfish act.”
Johanna’s family and Caledonia police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to come forward and share what they saw.
A GoFundMe page has also been created to help Johanna’s family.
