Prescott man faces homicide charges

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Thomas Geistfeld, 65, Prescott, is due in court November 8 after he was accused of causing a fatal traffic crash while chatting on a cellphone.

He was charged last week in St. Croix County with negligent homicide and second-degree reckless homicide. Authorities said he was trying to pass a truck that was pulling a trailer, when his vehicle fish-tailed on a wet road and hit an oncoming car.

The driver of that car, 37-year-old Dawn Anderson of New Richmond, was killed. The crash happened in late September of last year on Saint Croix County Trunk “I” in the town of Joseph.

A reconstruction team found that Geistfeld was driving from 73-94 miles per hour in a 55-zone. Officials said Geistfeld threw down his cellphone to try and get his vehicle back under control.

State lawmakers have occasionally talked about banning behind-the-wheel cellphone use, but a statewide bill has never been introduced. In 2010, Wisconsin passed a law that bans drivers from writing or reading text messages.

Tags: crime, courts, wisconsin