Waukesha Man Facing 4th OWI After Crash

A Waukesha man is facing a felony drunk driving charge after he rolled his pickup truck and hit a tree Dec. 22 while driving through Town of Genesee.

Frank A. Westphal, 50, was charged in on Tuesday with one count of fourth offense operating while intoxicated within five years. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 10:19 p.m. Thursday, police were called to an accident near Highway 59 and Old Village Road after Westphal’s truck rolled and hit a tree, causing severe damage to the vehicle. A witness to the accident said he saw a man lying next to the truck get up and walk away from the accident.

Police found Westphal sitting under another tree and wearing one shoe, which had a large amount of blood on it. He told the officers he was the passenger in the truck, but an officer told him the passenger side was crushed and no one would have been able to survive the crash of they had been sitting there.

Another witness to the crash told police Westphal had gone into the left lane in an attempt to pass a car in front of him, but almost hit her car head on, so Westphal then turned back into the right lane, lost control and rolled his truck.

Westphal told officers he had taken several prescription drugs prior to driving and refused to perform any field sobriety tests.

He was previously convicted of drunken driving in 1994, 1999 and 2009.