A Woodbury woman accused of being drunk when the car she was driving missed a curve, vaulted out of a ditch and flew more than 100 feet in the air before smashing through the side of a town of Pleasant Valley home pleaded not guilty Feb. 12 to all charges, according to St. Croix County Circuit Court records.
Charges filed against Kellie Marie Finke-Tchida, 27, following the Dec. 16, 2018, incident include felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety, two counts of misdemeanor cause injury while intoxicated, OWI and operate with blood alcohol level above .08, according to a criminal complaint.
According to the complaint:
Officers responded a little before 3 a.m. Dec. 16 to the 300 block of County Road W to find Finke-Tchida and the passenger, 25-year-old Josh Pettee, trapped inside a vehicle that was half inside the dining room of a home.
Both were freed and questioned.
Pettee told officers he was driving, they were coming from a bar and they "just missed the curve," while Finke-Tchida said "I crashed" before saying she didn't remember who was driving.
She later told police at the hospital she didn't remember driving, but she knew "100 percent that Josh was not driving."
A resident of the home said they heard the two talking about who was driving and the male appeared to ask the woman if she wanted him to say he was the driver.
Deputies reported smelling alcohol coming from the car and Finke-Tchida was described as having bloodshot, glassy eyes.
"It should be noted the vehicle did not touch the ground at any point during the approximate 110 ft. jump into the home," the complaint states.
Finke-Tchida's next court appearance is scheduled for March 28.
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