Passenger injured in crash, driver faces felony OWI charge, officials say

A Richland Center man faces a felony drunken-driving charge for his involvement in a single-vehicle crash in Richland County early Friday morning.

Richland County sheriff’s deputies were sent to the intersection of County Road A and Coulter Hill Road just before 2 a.m. for reports of a single-vehicle crash with injuries, according to a release.

Officials said the passenger, 64-year-old George J. Schmidt, of Soldiers Grove, was taken to Vernon Memorial Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies could smell alcohol on the driver of the vehicle, 59-year-old Leland L. Mellum, of Richland Center, and a check of his driver status showed he had a revoked license due to a previous drunken-driving offense, according to the release.

Mellum was arrested on a tentative felony fifth-offense operating while intoxicated with injury after performing field sobriety tests and showing signs of impairment, officials said.