MONROE — A group of outdoor enthusiasts were enjoying a day on the trails of Lafayette County last May when they stopped to look around: One of the riders in the group, on a rented UTV, was missing. 

So the group fired up their machines and went back down the Pecatonica Trail to find their missing driver and passenger — only to discover they had lost control of their UTV and gone into the river near Bridge #59, killing the passenger, 55-year-old-old Wendy S. Baele, of Kewanee, Ill.

Investigators allege the driver of that 2024 Kawasaki UTV, Keith L. Konczak, 50, of Utica, Ill., was impaired, and he now faces felony homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle charges in Lafayette County Circuit Court.

“It was a beautiful day that day, they’d been riding all day,” said Lafayette County Sheriff Reg Gill, commenting on how quickly a group outing can turn from fun to tragic. “(It was also) a lack of experience, not knowing the trails and intoxication.”

Police say fatal UTV crashes occur far too often in Wisconsin; and in this part of the state — indeed, another rider was killed on October 21 and three others injured after a UTV crash on private property in the Town of Gratiot, off Wis. 11, near Patch Road. Charges have not been filed in that case but police said they suspect alcohol also played a role.

In fact, alcohol was a factor in about 45% of ATV fatalities and 63% of UTV fatalities, according to the DNR. ATVs and UTVs are very popular here — with more than 2,300 miles of public trails in Wisconsin and thousands more on private property.

Over half of all crashes involve rollovers and accidents in which someone is thrown out of an ATV/UTV, so seatbelts and helmets are essential. Another factor in fatal crashes in the state — many involved failed to complete a DNR-approved safety course, which is required of anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1988.

Konczak, meanwhile, is scheduled for an initial appearance on the charges at 11:30 a.m. November 17 before Circuit Judge Jenna Gill.

In Wisconsin, the penalty for homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, a Class D felony, is up to 25 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.