FdL man charged in Highway 151 rollover

Intoxicated use of vehicle alleged in death of friend. By The Reporter Staff.

A 24-year-old Fond du Lac man has been charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle after a passenger in his car died in a traffic accident.

Jason P. Narance, 25, of N8630 Linden Beach Road, was pronounced dead at the scene of the Sunday morning crash on Highway 151 south of Fond du Lac, according to the criminal complaint. The driver, Brian J. Schraufnagel, 116 E. Johnson St., told investigating officers that the two had been in Madison celebrating Jason's birthday, which was Feb. 1.

Schraufnagel appeared in intake court Monday before Circuit Court Judge Steven Weinke and was released from custody under the conditions of a $10,000 signature bond.

He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted. A preliminary hearing date has been set for March 22. According to a criminal complaint, officers from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department were dispatched to the scene of the accident about 5:33 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Highway 151 and Wonser Road in the Town of Lamartine.

At the crash scene, Schraufnagel, the driver of the vehicle, appeared visibly distraught, was crying loudly and smelled of alcohol, authorities said. Schraufnagel admitted to authorities that he had been drinking. Police said he failed several field sobriety tests, was staggering, was unable to follow directions and could not complete the alphabet test after three tries. After he was booked into jail, Schraufnagel said that he and Narance had been drinking in Madison. He said Narance had been drinking "heavily” because they were celebrating his birthday.

Schraufnagel said that they left a friend's house at about 3:15 a.m., got lost, called his friend back for directions, then stopped at a gas station in Beaver Dam. While he was traveling about 50 miles per hour, the defendant said he hit a patch of ice and slid into the ditch. Schraufnagel told police that a vehicle was coming toward him in the southbound lane, and started to cross the center line. He said he swerved to avoid the other car but must have over-corrected, and that's when he lost control. That's the last thing he remembers, according to the criminal complaint.

Narance was sleeping at the time, reclined in the passenger's seat, Schraufnagel said. Neither of the two were wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.