Judge finds probable cause in hit-and-run, orders jail time for probation review

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  —  A Dunn County judge has found probable cause in a case involving a 37-year-old Colfax woman who is accused of a hit-and-run accident that left Linda Salazar, owner of Mom’s Restaurant and Pub in Colfax, severely injured.

Following a preliminary hearing in Dunn County Circuit Court January 12, Judge Rod Smeltzer found probable cause and ordered Jami A. Golden bound over for trial.

Golden, who was still in custody at the time of the preliminary hearing, appeared in court with her attorney, Christopher R. Bub.

Golden is charged with one felony count of hit and run involving great bodily harm and one felony count of reckless driving causing great bodily harm.

Judge Smeltzer also ordered jail time in a probation review hearing related to an earlier case in which Golden was found guilty in September of 2014 of one felony count of delivering methamphetamine.

Judge Smeltzer sentenced Golden to five months in the Dunn County jail on the probation review with Huber privileges for work, treatment and to take care of her mother.

Salazar was struck while crossing state Highway 40 in Colfax at Fifth Avenue around 5:30 a.m. December 9 while she was walking to the restaurant to open it for the day.

Salazar suffered ten broken ribs, a concussion, a broken arm, a broken leg, a broken ankle, a broken pelvis, a head injury and several internal injuries. She was hospitalized in critical care at Mayo Eau Claire for nearly three weeks and was then moved to the Mayo Clinic Health System — Chippewa Valley hospital in Bloomer to continue her recovery.

Golden also was issued traffic citations for operating a vehicle without insurance; failure to notify police of an accident; and obstructed driver’s vision front view (frost on the windshield). 

Preliminary hearing

Dunn County Deputy Emmer Shields testified during the preliminary hearing that he had been dispatched to Colfax at 5:36 a.m. Friday, December 9, for a hit-and-run accident.

Deputy Shields said he had arrived in Colfax ten minutes after he had been dispatched, and that when he arrived, Colfax Emergency Medical Technicians were tending to a patient lying in the middle of state Highway 40 on the south side of town.

Other deputies, bystanders and Dale Schaub, the man who called 911, were also on the scene, he said. 

The victim was almost exactly in the center of the road, Deputy Shields said.

Schaub told deputies he had been northbound on Highway 40 when a southbound four-door compact car had struck something in the road that he at first thought was a mannequin, the deputy said.

The southbound vehicle stopped south of the intersection, but when Schaub looked up, it was gone, Deputy Shields said. 

Schaub told deputies that the victim had flown up into the air and had landed on the ground. The driver of the southbound vehicle did not get out, stopped briefly, and Schaub called 911, Deputy Shields said.

Salazar was transported to Mayo Eau Claire with multiple serious injuries, and Deputy Shields said he had been unable to talk to her at the hospital because she had a breathing tube.

Deputy Shields said he had contact with Golden when she returned to scene of the crash 20 to 30 minutes later.

Salazar had already been transported to the hospital by the time Golden returned, he said.

Icy windows

At the time Golden came back to Colfax, deputies were photographing the scene. Golden told deputies she had been involved in an accident, Deputy Shields said.

Golden said she was on her way to work, had struck something in the road, thought it was animal, and could not see because her car windows were iced up but that there had been a clear section on the windshield where she could see, he said.

Golden told deputies she had not seen a person walking, Deputy Shields said.

When Golden saw that another driver had stopped and was checking on whatever was lying in the roadway, she said she continued on to work, the deputy said.

When asked why she had returned to the scene of the accident, Golden told deputies that after she had thought about it, she realized she may have struck a person, Deputy Shields said.

After Golden got to work, she looked at the damage to her vehicle. A piece of Salazar’s jacket was wedged in the door of the vehicle, he said.

Judge Smeltzer found probable cause that a felony had been committed, that Golden had probably committed the felony and scheduled an arraignment hearing in Dunn County Circuit Court on January 30 at 8:45 a.m.

Probation review

Following the preliminary hearing, Judge Smeltzer held a probation review hearing related to Golden’s conviction in 2014 in Dunn County on one felony count of delivering methamphetamine.

Judge Smeltzer had withheld sentencing in the methamphetamine case, placed Golden on four years of probation, ordered her to serve nine months in jail, stayed six months of the jail time, and ordered Golden to serve three months. 

At the probation review hearing, Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Maki reported that Golden’s probation agent had been unable to attend the hearing but had filed a letter with the court recommending that Golden be sentenced to nine months of conditional jail time with Huber privileges and that the jail time should start as of December 9. 

Golden’s attorney, Bub, said Golden should be sentenced to two or three months of jail time.

While she has been on probation, Golden has “done well,” has gone through treatment at Arbor Place and has successfully completed Dunn County treatment court, Bub said.

In addition, she has had no probation violations. Golden’s probation would have been discharged in September except that she still has some fines left to pay, he said.

Golden has been doing well, and she returned to the scene of the accident. Two or three months would be appropriate, Bub said.

Judge Smeltzer sentenced Golden to five months in jail with a starting date of December 9, the day of the hit-and-run accident involving Salazar, and granted Huber privileges for work, treatment and to take care of her mother.

Bail was set for Golden with a signature bond of $2,000 December 9, but because of a probation hold, Golden was still in custody at the time of the January 12 preliminary hearing. 

Hit-and-run causing great bodily harm is a Class E felony that carries a penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $50,000 and up to 15 years in prison, or both. 

Since Golden’s previous conviction of delivering methamphetamine was a felony, the repeater status could add up to four years if she is convicted of hit-and-run causing great bodily harm. 

Reckless driving causing great bodily harm is a Class I felony that carries a penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $10,000 and up to three years and six months in prison, or both.

Since Golden’s previous conviction was a felony, she could face an additional penalty of up to four years if she is convicted of reckless driving causing great bodily harm.