A 22-year-old Wisconsin man was convicted and sentenced to more than 50 years in prison on Wednesday after he ran his truck into a troop of Girl Scouts picking up trash on the side of a road, killing three girls and one woman in November 2018.
Colten Treu pleaded no contest in December to four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and guilty to one count of hit and run causing bodily harm. Judge James Isaacson sentenced Treu to 54 years in prison, following by 45 years of extended supervision.
"You know it's been called a tragedy — that doesn't seem to be enough. It's been called a horrendous tragedy; senseless, thoughtless," Isaacson said. "There's more adjectives. Avoidable is one that comes to mind. Still it's not enough."
The fatal collision occurred in November 2018 as Treu was driving a black Ford F-150 north on a highway in Lake Hallie, Wisconsin, when it crossed over a lane and into a ditch where the troop was busy picking up trash. Four people were killed, including 9-year-old Jayna Kelley, 10-year-old Autum Helgeson, 10-year-old Haylee J. Hickle, and her mother, 32-year-old Sara Jo Schneider. The troop had been wearing high visibility safety vests and were not on the shoulder of the road at the time.
Treu admitted to police that he and a passenger had been "intentionally inhaling chemical vapors" moments before the crash occurred.
During his sentencing, Treu addressed the families of the victims.
"I screwed up bad. No matter what I say or do, you guys are never going to know how sorry I really am," Treu said, according to a report from WEAU. "I can't give back what I have taken. I want to. Lord knows I want to."
In a statement following True's conviction, the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes said, "We are thankful for the sentence handed down today for the deaths and injuries of our beloved Girl Scouts. We remain fully in support of Troop 3055, their families, and our Girl Scout community and hope today’s sentencing provides some small measure of closure as the families continue to try and rebuild after immeasurable loss."
Photo: Chippewa County Sheriff's Office