Bond set at $20K for Wausau man charged with 7th OWI

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Bond has been set at $20,000 cash for a 69-year-old man charged with his seventh drunken driving offense.

Investigators said on July 29 they responded to the report of a hit and run crash on Grand Avenue and Weston Avenue in Wausau. The reporting party said their vehicle was stopped to wait for a turning motorcycle when the vehicle was rear-ended. A woman said the suspect vehicle, a red pick-up, then drove away from the scene.

The woman was able to get a license plate number which was provided to the police. Police located the person the vehicle was registered to at a home in Wausau.

According to court documents, the damaged vehicle was located in an open garage. The owner and person police said was driving at the time of the crash, Dennis Campbell was sitting inside the garage when police arrived. Campbell reportedly told police he had drank alcohol before driving but said he was OK to drive. He said he came home and drank three vodka drinks. According to court documents, he did not answer why he left the scene of the crash.

Campbell’s first conviction for operating while intoxicated was in Price County in 1989. His most recent conviction was in Marathon County in 2011.

Campbell will return to court on Aug. 8. That’s when the court will determine if he can afford his own attorney.