‘You just ruined that family’s life’: Friend of drunken driver who killed man expresses shock

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — A deadly crash in Sun Prairie that happened around 4 p.m. Sunday left one man dead and another hospitalized.

Nicholas Hanley was arrested on tentative charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle and fourth-offense operating while intoxicated. He was also cited for failure to maintain control and unsafe passing.

“I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t seem like that type of person who would drink and drive,” said Amber Hendrickson, who has known Hanley for the past three years.

The driver of the car was turning into a pumpkin patch farm on County Highway T when police say Hanley was attempting to pass them on the eastbound side, but hit the driver’s side of the victim’s car. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and the passenger was transported to the hospital.

“You would think that he would learn from the first time,” Hendrickson said.

Hanley’s last OWI was in 2006. He’s been driving with an active license since 2007.

“If somebody is caught drunk driving and receives an OWI, it’s certainly not the first time that’s happened,” said Dane County Sheriff Public Information Officer Elise Schaffer.

Police see this type of thing more often than they’d like, but Hendrickson said she could have never imagined Hanley in this position.

“No, like, he always seemed like he was busy with his cars and on top of the storage unit, he always had his shop next door and would always be working on his vehicles,” Hendrickson said. “He never showed any signs of being drunk. He never showed any signs that he liked to go out drinking.”

It’s a problem that’s devastated victims’ lives in countless instances just like this.

“Our deputies along with the public get very frustrated with the fact that people just decide to get behind the wheel intoxicated,” Schaffer said. “It’s a choice and there’s consequences for that choice.”

While Hendrickson believes Hanley will face serious consequences for his actions, she said it will be a wake-up call for him.

“It will wake him up. Based off somebody had to die and it’s going to be an eye-opener for him. It’s going to be an eye-opener for everybody not to drink and drive,” Hendrickson said. “I understand Wisconsin is the No. 1 state for drinking but, call an Uber, call a friend, call anybody because you just ruined that family’s life.”

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