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Crash kills 1, leads to charges
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BRODHEAD - About four years after he finished a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for vehicular homicide, a Janesville man finds himself in a similar situation after a two-vehicle crash Friday night in Spring Grove. 

According to a Green County Sheriff's press release, Nathan L. Leopold, 44, Janesville, is charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs after a fatal crash outside of Brodhead Friday evening. He was also cited for operating left of center. Police responded just after 6 p.m.

Leopold was traveling eastbound on Wisconsin 11 near Airport Road in Spring Grove when he reported to authorities he fell asleep. His car drifted into the other lane, striking head-on a westbound vehicle driven by David P. Leck, 70, Juda. Leck was pronounced dead at the scene.

A passenger in Leck's vehicle, Emily E. Withee, 12, Brodhead, was injured and transported by EMS to Mercy Hospital in Janesville.

Leck and Withee were wearing seatbelts. According to the release, it appeared Leopold was also wearing a seatbelt. Both vehicles sustained severe damage and were towed from the scene.

After a 2002 Dane County crash, Leopold was charged with a felony hit-and-run involving a death, and homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle, according to Wisconsin Circuit Court records. He was sentenced to seven years, seven months in prison and three years extended supervision.

In 1998, Leopold was charged with reckless driving in Green County.

The following agencies assisted at the scene: the Brodhead Fire Department, Brodhead EMS, Orfordville EMS, Green County EMS, Green County Highway Department, Wisconsin State Patrol and the Green County Coroner's Office. The crash remains under investigation. This is Green County's fourth fatal collision and its sixth fatality this year.