Felony Hit-and-Run Charges for Man Accused of 2nd OWI

A hit-and-run accident Tuesday morning that could have been so much worse was caused by a man who had been drinking for hours beforehand, according to police.

Michael Lanouette, 42, of Mount Pleasant, was charged Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court with one count of operating while intoxicated causing injury, second offense and one count of felony hit and run - injury. If convicted, he faces up to six years, nine months in jail and/or up to $20,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint, a driver in a work van was traveling east on Taylor Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday when he stopped at the intersection of Taylor and Lathrop Avenues for the stop sign. The man told Mount Pleasant police he was rear-ended by another vehicle, and the collision pushed the work van into the intersection.

The driver called 911 and got out of his van. While he was out of the van, police say the male driver of the other vehicle backed up and then drove around the van and continued south on Lathrop Avenue. The man complained of neck and back pain and was transported to the hospital.

Police discovered the driver who fled the scene was Lanouette after the man was able to provide a license plate number that came back registered to one of Lanouette's relatives, according to the complaint.

Officers went to the address where they found an SUV matching the description given at the scene of the accident and fresh vomit in the grass near the driver's side. Police say Lanouette's relative told them he hadn't been drinking since he returned home but had been drinking all night.

When officers roused the defendant in his bedroom, they say he looked at his relative and asked, "How could you?" and said he was going to go away for five years.

Police questioned Lanouette, and he reportedly told them he hadn't had anything to drink since arriving home. But, he admitted to consuming a bottle of rum over the course of several hours before the accident on top of receiving a methadone treatment. Officers' report that Lanouette failed all field sobriety tests.

The defendant was placed into custody and transported to Wheaton Franciscan St. Mary's for a legal blood draw. The results of the test were not available when police reports were filed.

Lanouette remains in the Racine County Jail on a $2,500 cash bond. His preliminary hearing is set for April 25.