May 22, 2019 at 5:40 p.m.
Metz in Vilas County custody on vehicular homicide, related charges
Metz in Vilas County custody on vehicular homicide, related charges
By Abigail Bostwick-
A bond hearing and court appearance had yet to be set as of press time Wednesday morning for Tyler J.L. Metz, 19, Poplar. He also has a residence history in Rhinelander, based on social media accounts.
Metz is charged with homicide by a vehicle with the use of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics, possession of methamphetamine and causing injury while under the influence, a misdemeanor in addition to first offense driving while intoxicated.
According to court records, police responded to a head-on collision Jan. 23 on snow and ice-covered roads on State Highway 51 near Bakken Road in Boulder Junction. It was said inside one truck, a party wasn't breathing and another was trapped. A man in the other truck, too, was trapped, investigators found.
Emergency service providers used the Jaws of Life to extract Metz from one vehicle and Timothy Boss, 59, Manitowish Waters in the other. They, along with Boss' daughter who was riding with him on their way home from the Minocqua area, was taken to Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff. A helicopter was requested could not respond due to weather conditions.
Boss' daughter told investigators her dad "drives like a grandpa" due to poor road conditions - and was doing so that morning. Both she and her father saw Metz' truck cross the centerline, when Boss apparently yelled out just prior to impact, she said.
Medical staff found white pills on Metz while caring for him. Police questioned him about it, to which Metz said it was hydrocodone pills and meth. He admitted to taking the hydrocodone that morning and using meth in the last day or so. He also said he used to have a hydrocodone prescription for a leg injury, but no longer did, court records state.
Boss' daughter was severely injured in the crash.
Investigators were able to reconstruct the scene and determine Metz crossed the centerline, leading to the head-on crash. Blood samples from Metz confirmed meth, THC, amphetamine, nicotine, caffeine and a type of anesthetic were in his system at the time of the crash. A wrongful death suit also has been filed in Vilas County with Boss' wife as special administrator in the estate.
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