WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) -The 55-year-old Mosinee man convicted of hitting and killing a semi driver that stopped to help a stranded motorist will spend 1 year in jail and 5 years on probation.
Scott Searing was sentenced Tuesday in Marathon County Circuit Court. In November, he pleaded no contest to homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle.
Court documents state on Sept. 4, 2018 a man pulling a camper stopped on the shoulder to change a tire on his camper on I-39 near Rothschild. The driver said a semi driver, later identified by State Patrol as Randal Landwehr, 62, stopped to help.
Investigators said the camper had its flashers on and Landwehr’s semi had flashing amber lights on top. Landwehr was also wearing a traffic safety vest. Investigators said both vehicles were also pulled far enough over that neither vehicle was touching or covering the rumble strips.The owner of the camper said he was raising the camper when the Good Samaritan was struck by a box truck. Investigators said Landwehr died at the scene.
According to court documents, Searing said the man stepped out from behind the camper and was struck by the truck’s mirror.
One month later, investigators located the driver that was traveling directly behind Searing.
Investigators said the witness said the box truck was attempting to move from the right lane to the left lane when it stuck the semi, bounced off the semi and went back to the right lane. The witness told investigators the box truck did not stop after the crash, so he followed the truck till it did stop.