MONROE — A Monroe man was sentenced Sept. 30 for reckless and drunken driving convictions related to a 2018 one-vehicle crash that critically injured his passenger. 

Mitchell William Riese, 25, pleaded no contest to a Class I felony charge of reckless driving causing great bodily harm and a first-offense misdemeanor charge of causing injury while operating under the influence of alcohol and with a blood-alcohol concentration greater than 0.15%.

Judge Thomas Vale sentenced him to three years on probation and a conditional five months in jail. Riese is allowed to serve his jail time on electronic monitoring.

Riese’s license is revoked two years and he’s ordered to resubmit to an evaluation for alcohol or other drug abuse (AODA) to determine ongoing counseling during his probation. His court assessments total $1,884.

Riese is eligible to have his convictions expunged under a state law that grants leniency to young offenders. Wisconsin court records show no prior traffic or criminal convictions for him.

The case stems from a crash in the N4200 block of Benkert Road, Town of Monroe, in the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2018. An investigation by Green County sheriff’s deputies found Riese was westbound when he lost control on a curve, went off the road and hit a tree.

Riese and his passenger, Benjamin T. Murray, 25, formerly of Monroe and now living in Oregon, were taken by ambulance to the Monroe Clinic ER for treatment of injuries.

Murray had to be extricated from the vehicle and was later flown by MedFlight helicopter to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.

Murray recently filed an automobile personal injury lawsuit against Riese. It’s still pending.